


Trust Me, I Want Me Dead, Too

by miketheburner (murb93)



Series: Trust Me, I Want Me Dead, Too, AU [1]
Category: Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awkward Romance, Comedy, Crossover, Everyone Is Alive, Gen, Implied Sexual Content, New Game+, Persona 5 Protagonist/Yoshizawa Sumire - Freeform, Recreational Drug Use, Ryuji Sakamoto/Haru Okumura, Ryuji refuses to say fuck, Takamaki Ann/Shiho Suzio, time loops
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:00:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 63
Words: 303,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25676992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/murb93/pseuds/miketheburner
Summary: Spoilers for P5, Royal and probably the rest of the series.Ren Amamiya has made some incredible friends over the years but even the best of friends become irritating when you’re stuck in a debilitating time loop that refuses to end. His 112th time is different. This time, he’s got a ton of new friends, a ton of new enemies, a potential way out, and a nihilistic attitude that tells him none of this will pan out well.Features the P3 and P4 cast heavily, as well as some OC’s because good lord this story has like 60 characters and I need to give everyone something to do.Currently on hiatus while I decide whether or not to start over completely. I lost my thread when I stepped away.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Niijima Makoto, Okumura Haru/Sakamoto Ryuji, Persona 5 Protagonist/Yoshizawa Sumire | Yoshizawa Kasumi, Suzui Shiho/Takamaki Ann
Series: Trust Me, I Want Me Dead, Too, AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1944301
Comments: 284
Kudos: 300





	1. Hypothetically, A Million Years Later

“...What do you mean you can’t die?”

Sure, there were more satisfying events Ren could look forward to in this constant stream of respawning hellscapes but explaining to Kamoshida that he can’t die is Ren’s current favorite activity. 

“I mean, I suppose I’d be dead to you?” Ren spoke with an upward inflection and gave a thoughtful look towards his antagonist, doing little more than confusing the massively perverted gym teacher. “Like, how do I explain this? I thought I was doomed to repeat the same year of my life. Just the same thing over and over again because I pissed off some god.” Ren shrugged. “Yaldy doesn’t know what’s going on either, though. I asked him.”

Kamoshida moved in close and took up a poor fighting stance that he probably thought was a good one. There was a confidence in his eyes that almost made up for his lack of technique. ‘Arrogance?’ Ren thought. ‘Definitely arrogance. It’s arrogance if you can’t back it up.’

“I’m starting to think it’s a quantum physics problem, but I’ve delved deep and I still can’t see it.” It probably didn’t help Ren that Futaba, a veritable genius, also didn’t understand what the hell he was going on about. “Basically, when I die, the world ends and everything starts back over.”

‘There are so many timelines,’ Ren thought. He tried to keep track of them all.

“There’s the one where I became a boxer for  _ some _ reason,” he shrugged after Kamoshida missed another punch. “Honestly, I’m waiting for one where I get to be a pro wrestler because I have so many ideas for a catchphrase.” Ren shrugs off a body shot from the aggressor, who doesn’t seem all too interested in his monologuing. “The funniest part about that timeline is I don’t think there was a single person who couldn’t have taken you by the end of it. I’d pay money to watch you try shit with Ann or Shiho at the end of that one.”

Kamoshida responded with a growl.

“Anyway, this has gone on long enough,” Ren said, and a short right jab had Kamoshida down for the count. “It turns out your kryptonite is the slightest amount of cardio.”

Ren doesn’t know why he’s still talking: Kamoshida is getting acquainted with the inside of his own eyelids. He took a timeline off three deaths ago and did nothing but binge-watch TV at Futaba’s behest.

“Technically, nobody besides you is suffering so is there anything wrong with you taking a year off? Besides, your trash talk could use some work. If what you’ve told me is true, you’ve been shouting ‘show me your true form!’ at shadows for almost a century.”

Futaba was right so Ren took a year off. It didn’t end well but it did end. Yaldabaoth took everything over, the world ended and much to Ren’s relief, he woke up on the train to Tokyo the next morning.

Ren flicked a calling card on Kamoshida’s unconscious body. “He’s probably not used to people making it rain on him,” he said out loud then laughed to himself. “That was a good one.”

===

Joker looked around the alley a few minutes later to make sure everyone showed up on time. He had to give a second look when he got to Goro and realized he had no idea who his team was at this point. ‘I’ve done this too many times.’

No Morgana, no Ryuji. Shiho and her overly dominant bless skills were a must for the Castle of Lust. It probably helped that she was by far the easiest to work with of all the Thieves he’d had over the years. She was used to a team environment and quick to cut things out that didn’t matter. Ren was able to seek her out early and remove her from the Kamoshida situation. The task was simple: Cameras exist and Kamoshida didn’t want everyone seeing him sexually harassing a high school girl.

Ren’s sanity was probably being saved by Ryuji not being part of the party yet. He was just as good of a friend to Shiho as anybody but she had been relentless in her roasting of him in past timelines. 

Shiho’s codename might as well have been “asshole” after she exposed Ryuji’s crush, at least Ryuji from that timeline’s crush on Hifumi Togo.

Joker, thinking he was being funny, said “but she’s my asshole,” which led to him getting chided for not wiping properly.

Gross.

‘I really should find more poop-based catchphrases,’ Joker thought to himself.

Makoto had joined the team early. Those aforementioned photos made the rounds and Ren genuinely mistakenly forgot to remove the geotags from the file. Makoto wasn’t Futaba but she wasn’t a dummy. She confronted him within a week of him being at the school and instead of throwing him under the bus, she begged him to help.

“I can’t be a pushover anymore,” she told him this timeline, just a couple of weeks ago. Dealing with Makoto at the beginning of a timeline was always such a drag. Without Johanna, she gave herself zero credit for all the good things she did. Ren discovered early on how deep her depression ran when she ended up on the roof instead of with the Thieves.

Joker didn’t know how to take Ann. He didn’t understand the nature of the timelines, but if he didn’t know any better, he’d assume she just absorbed Mika. She was always a bit headstrong and stubborn but there was always a cheerful bubbly attitude behind it. Ann was now much more severe about both modeling land fighting, still upbeat but closer to zen. She didn’t let what she couldn’t control bother her unless it came to Makoto. They got along fine as teammates but there hadn’t been a timeline that Joker couldn’t remember that didn’t end with Ann with an imprint of Makoto’s fist on her face.

It wasn’t all negative, Joker thought. She usually woke up to Celestine after that so he usually just let it happen. The fight was also the impetus for Shiho confessing her love for Ann so it usually brought on more good than bad.

Joker had some personal sad boi hours about that one but he got over it eventually. Ann and Shiho were adorable together. 

Finding Goro sitting outside Tae Takemi’s clinic was strange because he was wearing these ratty clothes that hadn’t been washed in ages. If Ren didn’t know any better, he’d assume Goro was homeless.

That assumption was correct, and that’s how Joker’s greatest non-surrealist entity enemy because a meek, child-like and weak member of his party. The days of Goro being a hunter and murderer were long gone. He hadn’t even learned that Shido was his father.

===

_ Months prior _

“Sup, Yaldy,” he said as a greeting instead of a question. Ren gave up the pretense that he didn’t know who “Igor” really was. He just had to make sure he insulted Yaldabaoth and not Caroline and Justine. He could handle Yaldabaoth, but the twins fought like hell. ‘I’ve never actually seen Lavenza fight. Is she stronger because they’re one, or weaker because she doesn’t have a teammate?’

Yaldabaoth didn’t seem to understand Ren’s time-traveling problem and he took offense ot being referred to as “Yaldy.”

“Trickster, I know not this Yaldy you speak of.”

“Just drop it,” Ren sighed. “I know all about it. You set up a game with Igor because you think humans are hopeless. He disagreed, yada yada yada. Morgana was born, blah blah blah, you gave Akechi the power to make people insane, then tortured me for a year. I get it, dude. It was a good time.”

“Impotent fool!” Yaldabaoth shouted. 

“I haven’t peed myself in six whole days, thank you very much,” Ren smirked.

Ren met a friendlier, homeless Akechi outside Dr. Takemi’s clinic.

He wasn’t a detective anymore, just a homeless would-be high school student with a Sherlock Holmes obsession and a strong, albeit misguided sense of justice. He had headphones in and his eyes were shut. Ren knew the look of somebody blocking out the world.

“Yo, kid, up and at ‘em,” Ren said, nudging Goro with his foot. “You don’t want to sleep here.”

The former psychopath grunted and begrudgingly awoke. His clothes were tattered. His brown jacket might not have been brown when he first got it and his sweatpants were more sweat than pant. His Air Monarchs looked like a middle-aged suburban dad’s grass cutting shoes. He looked more like a down-on-his-luck side character in a yakuza movie than a criminal mastermind going around killing people in the metaphysical plane.

“Sorry.” Akechi looked up pleadingly, his hands shaking. Ren couldn’t decide if he was nervous, dehydrated or both.

“It’s good,” Ren said. “I’m not one to call the cops, and neither Dr. Takemi.”

Akechi attempted to stand and would have plopped back down if Ren hadn’t caught his arms. He couldn’t help but notice how weak and horrifically skinny Goro was. “When’s the last time you ate?”

“Takemi fed me before, uh, well she just fed me,” Akechi said, earning a glare.

“Tae wouldn’t test on a random homeless kid.”

“I don’t know what to tell you,” Goro shrugged. “I needed the money.”

Ren felt like the universe was again playing its tricks on him. “Alright, come on,” Ren gestured towards LeBlanc. “Let’s get you some food, and I’ve got a couch you can sleep on. If you stab me I can’t die for some reason, and I don’t have anything worth stealing.”

===

_ Current _

“Our path is set,” Ren said, laying out their plans for the fight. Kamoshida’s shadow form hadn’t changed from any other attempt and the palace was so similar this time that Ren doubted it would change. He came alone and triggered a transformation in Kamoshida early, something that had become a habit. He’d do it with every palace owner he could just to have a clue what he was getting himself into. He wouldn’t beat the boss alone, though. It was better to have a well-rounded team rather than a one-man army no matter how easy the early palaces were. Going into Shido’s palace without a balanced team was a death sentence still.

“Makoto, what’s your role?”

“Climb up the chandelier and knock off the crown,” she said. 

“Reliable as always,” Joker said. “Any questions? This is pretty straightforward. He’s tough, but we can handle him.”

His team replied with determined looks.

===

Kamoshida went down in 2 minutes and 57 seconds, a new record. Joker hadn’t lifted a finger, instead using Ishtar to run support the whole time. They didn’t really need him there. ‘This might be the most competent group I’ve ever had.’

The gang’s spirits were high for good reason. Ren still had some questions that needed answering, though. The mental shutdowns were still happening. They’d stop being the catalyst for the Thieves’ progress, but there were still a lot of train accidents. Given Goro was a member of his team with seemingly no connection to the incidents, Ren’s worries grew.

Infrastructure shouldn’t be failing twice a week. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2-12-21: I had some free time, so I decided to go back over the early chapters again with a better idea in mind of where I'm going.


	2. Brush with Dr. Death

_ Friday, April 22 _

If it were up to Ren, the Phantom Thieves would have Madarame on television confessing to his crimes yesterday. The faster Madarame confessed, the faster he’d be able to get Yusuke some food. ‘Knowing Yusuke, he’ll give some speech on the artistry of starvation,’ Ren thought. 

Rescuing a reluctant Yusuke from Madarame got more difficult to stomach with each reset. The plagiarist’s depravities and distortions grew most times. They reached what Ren hoped was the peak two resets ago, when Shiho arrived at the atelier to find Yusuke unconscious, his left arm angled in a direction that surely meant it was dislocated and his face covered in paint like someone tried to drown him in it. 

Popping his shoulder back in was a bitch and a half, and Dr. Takemi nearly skinned Ren alive for fixing his arm by popping it back in without bringing him to her first.

‘Now that I have Dr. Takemi on the brain…’ Ren had some beef to take up with the doctor.

===

_ A couple of weeks earlier… _

Everything with Dr. Takemi had been familiar since the beginning. Ren had already visited her a few times before he finished up with Kamoshida. She was her usual surly emo with a heart of gold. After the third reset, he discovered that she was a Phantom Thieves hipster. She’d followed them closely and cheered them on from the sidelines.

He also learned after he discovered that to never call her a hipster. He barely escaped the office without an impromptu prostate exam. ‘I shouldn’t project that on her,’ Ren thought. ‘That’s gross.’

Regardless of his stray perversions, Ren liked Dr. Takemi. The time he spent with her was one of the few consistently uplifting chapters of a timeloop, and a quick-witted charming woman that Ren absolutely had a giant crush on even if she smelled like a skunk half the time. 

‘Dr. Legs indeed,’ he thought to himself. Then he paused to clear his head.

She was apparently testing the cure for Miwa-chan on a starving homeless kid, which Ren found out of character. She would make Ren swear that he was utterly healthy to ensure there weren’t any complications with either him or the medication. Was she really running tests on a homeless teenager who could barely stand up on his own?

‘I’m not going to overreact,’ Ren told himself. ‘For all I know, Akechi could be setting me up again.’

Ren hadn’t encountered Loki or Robin Hood in five resets. Akechi’s Persona was instead a pale, human figure similar to those pain in the ass angels named Abel. Abel was scrawny and weak, but a good healer and good for stat buffs and debuffs. Akechi wouldn’t stand a chance if he had any treacherous plans. 

Dr. Takemi sat at reception with one of her foreign bands blaring through the office. Ren recognized the music as being from a band she’d shown him previously. It had heavy drums and shouting vocals that fit the Death arcana well.

“Doc!” Ren shouted to get her attention, and she jumped as she looked up from her rocking out/paperwork. Tuesday afternoons weren’t typically rush hour for her, so she was obviously hoping to be left alone. She didn’t necessarily advertise herself in this Yongen alley. 

“I specifically set up here to avoid this,” she’d once told Ren after he rudely interrupted a one-woman mosh pit that nearly cost her 40,000 yen in medical supplies, as though it was his fault she treated her office like a Metallica concern circa 1991.

“Jesus, kid,” she composed herself. “I thought I told you I’d text you when I’ve prepared the next trial.”

“Yeah,” Ren shrugged. “About that. I ran into a friend who told me you’d been testing on him, too. That homeless kid?” Ren held an arm out, an inch or so under his own. “About yay-high, brown hair, voice is raspy from not getting enough sleep and probably not getting enough water because he’s, well, you know, homeless?”

Takemi immediately gave him a guilty look to the tune of ‘my hand got played for me’ more than ‘I thought I’d get away with it.’

“Did you test on Akechi?”

Takemi startled at Ren’s authoritative tone, caught off guard. He’d learned a lot from getting interrogated by Sae Niijima 112 times.

“I…” Takemi’s face fell in a way Ren had only seen after Tae was falsely told Mika-chan passed away. “Fine. Yeah. He needed food and a place to stay. I offered him help but he refused unless he could pay me back in some way. I figured two guinea pigs were better than one, and I’m the same way. I won’t let somebody help me unless I can-”

“Help them,” Ren interrupted her and nodded. “I understand. I shouldn’t have accused you. It’s more responsible to have multiple subjects for a study, anyway.” 

The drug had caused ren to do unspeakably embarrassing things on more than one occasion, including using his secret nickname for Dr. Takemi to her face. She took it in stride, apparently.

“Is he getting fed?”

“Akechi has a meal and a place to stay whenever he wants it,” Takemi said. “I wouldn’t have tested on him without taking care of him. You have to trust me.”

Ren nodded. “Is there more to this story?”

Tae took a deep breath. “He showed up at my office asking for a checkup. He was upfront that he had nowhere to live and no money, and he wouldn’t accept a handout. That’s about as much detail as I can provide because of privacy laws but he really needed to see a doctor and he wouldn’t let me see him for free.”

Ren sighed. He couldn’t be angry at Takemi when her heart was breaking as she spoke. 

“I needed another person for that study. Miwa-chan… well, things aren’t going well and I needed to speed up the process.”

Ren glared no longer, the sympathy invading his eyes.

“He ran away after the first test,” Takemi’s gaze held real fear. “You know how the test is. You might do and say some things you don’t want to. I knew you were a Phantom Thief because you told me while you were under. It didn’t and doesn’t matter to me. He revealed some really dark thing that I’m just not comfortable with sharing.”

‘He’s going to try and kill me again,’ Ren thought.

“Guinea Pig, you need to listen to me,” Takemi said. “I know you want to help. I want to help, too. That’s why I’m glad you’re here. If he wants, he can stay with me for a while until he gets on his feet. Or maybe we can get him into a school. He’s not a dumb kid.” Takemi looked down at the wheels of her desk chair. “He’s going to be trouble even if he doesn’t mean to be. If there’s anyone well equipped to help him, it’s you guys.”

Ren knew the story already. Shido was the man responsible for the mental shutdowns at the highest level. He also happens to be Goro Akechi’s father.

“I’m sorry I doubted you,” Ren told the doctor. “I’ll see what I can get out of Akechi tonight. He’s sleeping on my sofa whether he wants to or not.”

===

Goro had the same nightmare twice a week as long as he could remember. Every Tuesday and Thursday night he’d hear a terrified voice in his sleep. He often ignored it.

He didn’t like violence. He liked letting the justice system work things out because not everyone had drawn as bad of a hand as he had. ‘I survive just fine,’ Goro thought. ‘Even if things are bad, I still have friends.’ 

Ren introduced him to Ann and Shiho, two friends from school who immediately did everything they could to include Goro as though he were one of them.

===

Boss closed up for the night, making LeBlanc a safe haven for conversation aside from Futaba’s prying ears. She had to have known about the Phantom Thieves by now anyway, Ren thought. ‘Hell, given the last few timelines, she probably knows why I’m afraid of Akechi.’

Akechi planted himself in the barstool closest to Sojiro's book collection and browsed for a time before picking out something philosophical, an analysis of John Locke, or something like that. Ren had read it in a previous life, but it went over his head for the most part. It listed methods for inward thinking that conflicted slightly with his knowledge of the metaverse.

The brief thought made Ren feel like he was having a bandage ripped off his brain, ‘a thought for another time, I suppose.' He focused on his cooking. There was already one Phantom Thief starving out there, and Ren intended to keep that number as low as possible.

He transferred the food from pot to plate and pushed it against Akechi's book to get his attention. His coloring was better, and he'd put on a few pounds from the last few days. It was the first time he'd had two consistent meals on consecutive days since his mom died.

Akechi started to thank Ren but got waved off. "It's nothing." Ren gave Akechi a stern look. "You're sleeping on the couch here tonight. Already cleared it with Sojiro." Akechi still hadn't touched his food. "It's better before it's cold."

Ren spent too much time around Sojiro and picked up too many of his mannerisms. Futaba accidentally called him dad more than once. 

The starving former-metaphysical-assassin stared at Ren for a second before digging in, scarfing down the curry in record time. This was the most substantial meal he'd seen Akechi eat. A loud belch escaped, and Akechi slumped back in the stool wordlessly.

"So…" Ren was really unsure how to approach Akechi. He was unsettled by Takemi, even though he almost certainly already knew the bomb that Takemi refused to drop. "Doc was pretty spooked when I asked her about you."

Akechi wasn't shaken by Ren's question. "I was planning on explaining this to you soon, anyway. I just didn't want to provide a distraction." He looked Ren in the eye; 'hopeful, not scared,' Ren thought.

He relayed the tragic backstory Ren had heard many times. Akechi's mother was hopelessly in love with a nameless man committed to being as awful of a person as possible. This dreadful man was also a politician, and the rest of the story was the same bar a few minor variances.

Ren decided to inquire if Goro knew anything about the metaverse.

"My father was approached by a researcher with knowledge of a place he called the metaverse, yes." Goro gave him an odd look back. "You know about it, as well?"

Ren nodded. 

"I awoke two years ago. The MetaNav was on my mother's phone when I found her, open, with my father's name in the query bar. I was trying to call the police." Akechi recalled. He didn't want to describe how he found his mother's body. Hanging from the rafters of an 'apartment,' not unlike LeBlanc's attic, was the reason he was hesitant to accept Ren's offer. "I found myself surrounded by shadows; I think the palace was a cruise ship. It's foggy, though. I remember being attacked. It felt as though I were becoming myself."

"I think the researcher escorted me out of the palace, but he was gone when I woke back up. My mother's body was gone. I was passed around some distant family after that. I don't remember much, but I remember learning who my father is. Masayoshi Shido, that politician running for Prime Minister. I've been trying to find the researcher that saved me since. I think he's the real key."

"..." Ren didn't know what to say. 'Was the culprit behind the shutdowns an adult?'

"I think that researcher is responsible for the mental shutdowns."

Ren didn't trust Goro. 'I'm not trusting Akechi. I'm not going to. No way. He's going to kill me again.' But Goro, even in this timeline, was a gifted strategist and his deductions weren't wrong often. Ren decided to briefly ignore his bias.

"Okay." Ren eyed Goro. He looked sincere. "We can't go after him right now. But we are going after your father. You have my word."

As if Ren needed another distraction. The distractions would continue the next morning in class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated: 2-12-21: I've made some substantial changes and deleted a scene. I'm working on tightening this story up because after reading chapters 1 and 2 with a critical eye, I couldn't stomach them. I'm hoping this is an easier read after I'm through with this.


	3. Thinking of Regicide

Saturday, April 23, Early Morning

“I’ll kill her,” Ren grumbled.

5 a.m.

Makoto called him at 5 a.m.

“I know it’s early,” Makoto said, earning an ‘uh, ya think?’ glare she could feel through the phone, somehow. “I need you to come to school early. I’ve got some things we need to talk about.”

Ren didn’t respond immediately and when he did it was in a tone that would have left any of the other Phantom Thieves frightened. “Fine.”

Makoto was nonplussed by it. Ren still found her terrifying on occasion. ‘Not quite as scary as Haru, maybe,’ Ren thought. ‘It’s a close second, though.’

Ren then started imagining Haru and Makoto trying to fight each other in the same way Ann tried to fight Makoto. He immediately regretted thinking it into existence and debated seeking a therapist.

He gave himself another hour to speak. Makoto gave specific instructions to be in the student council room by 7 a.m. Just one more hour…

‘I miss Mona,’ Ren thought. ‘He’d never let me stay up that late.’

===

Ren found Makoto waiting by the door as he approached the school. He took advantage of a less-packed-than-usual train to sit and read a book Goro gave him. It had been a catalyst for their long discussions that Ren both enjoyed and despised. He hoped to have a better understanding so he could argue back when Goro said something he didn’t like but it all still came off as nonsense.

He responded to Makoto’s greeting with a grunt. Not many people were dedicated enough to wake up at 5 a.m. for training every morning before school, especially when their schedule didn’t allow them to get to sleep until midnight. Even as a morning person, Ren found her frustrating.

It was charming, too, and having a Phantom Thief with the superpower of having the most obnoxious type A personality possible had its benefits.

She’d crash eventually but now she had people to pick up the pieces when she did. If it wasn’t Ren, it’d be Ann.

Makoto looked spooked as she led him through the school, checking her corners like she expected an ambush and fidgeting her keys.

“Am I missing something?”

Makoto turned her head towards him and didn’t say a word.

“You’re acting strange, Makoto,” Ren sighed. “Did something happen?”

She put a finger to her lips and opened the Student Council room. She pulled a notebook out of her satchel and took a seat at the table. She started scribbling.

We’re being watched, she wrote on the paper in English. Ren gestured his confusion and pulled out his own notebook.

???

Makoto pinched the bridge of her nose and Ren couldn’t tell if she was exasperated with him or if she was having an anxious headache.

Got a message on my phone last night.

Makoto pulled out her phone and showed him a text from an unknown number that came with its own avatar: a circular head with cat ears and sharp teeth.

???: I need to talk to your boss.

???: I know you’re a Phantom Thief.

Ren failed at hiding a grin. “Sojiro’s not a Phantom Thief, though.”

“What are you doing!?” Makoto probably didn’t intend to shout.

‘Adorable, Makoto,’ Ren thought. He was still a bit mad that she woke him up at 5 a.m. but seeing her so flustered and meeting Futaba made it worth it.

Makoto scrolled down.

Makoto: I don’t know what you’re talking about

???: Sure. Do you really want to lie to Alibaba?

???: Let’s cut the crap. Let me know when you see him next.

Ren could tell from Makoto’s behavior that she expected some kind of reprimand. Alibaba did contact them through Makoto’s phone, after all. What Makoto didn’t know is that Futaba had installed security measures in his phone in prior timelines to specifically keep out nosy people like herself. For some reason, the security measures stayed in place through his trips backward just like his items and money.

“Alright, Futaba, be nice to Makoto.” A text came through in seconds.

???: What

“Would you believe me if I said I’m a time traveler?” Ren felt like being a little shit.

???: What kind we talkin here? Like Dio?

“More like Bill Murray,” Ren said, unsure if Futaba had ever actually seen Groundhog day. “But instead of reliving one day, I relive a whole year.

There was one timeline where Ren technically made it three years. Makoto became a cop obsessed with catching a Phantom Thief that may or may not have been him.

???: Ugh. Sojiro likes that movie. Mom makes fun of him for it.

‘...Mom?’

???: Don’t distract me. How do you know who I am?

“I’m a time traveler. We’ve met…” Ren trailed off like he was counting. “112 times.” ‘Futaba probably won’t be waking up for a few days.

Makoto’s jaw hung open at the exchange. Ren could be reckless on occasion but this was a whole other level. Time travel? Is he actually nuts? Ren could nearly read her mind.

“Sorry, Makoto,” Ren sighed. “I don’t think I’ve blown my cover to anyone except Futaba before.”

Makoto kept staring.

“It’s fine, Makoto,” Ren shrugged. “The existential crisis is to be expected. Mine is still ongoing.”

She broke her silence. “Can you provide proof?”

“This isn’t the first time I’ve had to give an abbreviated recap to a Niijima,” Ren chuckled. He explained the first timeline in detail: Evil Akechi, losing his virginity to his teacher, beating Shinya Oda at Gun About. He hit all the important points.

“There are things I don’t think I can tell you without the universe collapsing in on itself,” Ren said. “I’m not exactly sure what they are. Even telling you that much might be the thing that does it but the universe hasn’t collapsed yet so that might be a good sign.” He choked back a laugh. Makoto was justifiably freaking out. “Regardless, Futaba is an important part of our mission and I think she’s a key part to me escaping this hellish year. All of you are.”

“Me?” Makoto pointed back at herself like she didn’t understand the definition of the word “you.”

“Yes,” Ren said. “And the rest of the Thieves, even the ones we haven’t met yet. There might be Phantom Thieves I don’t even know about because, at this point, I don’t know what else can go wrong.” He sighed. “We should end this here before you suffer an aneurysm.” Ren didn’t know if that would actually happen but Futaba claimed she felt like she was having one the first time he told her. “I think that’s hyperbole, for what it’s worth.”

It was still too early to start class. They had about 40 minutes until students started shuffling in.

“Well, you dragged me into school too early, so let’s make use of this,” Ren smirked and stood up from the raggedy couch. ‘I’ve got a feeling you’re going to get called into Principal Kobayakawa’s office early today on Phantom Thieves business.”

“Why would you think that?” Makoto stood up along with him.

“Want to bet on it?”

“Favor for a favor?” They shook hands in agreement. She didn’t like the crooked grin he gave her.

Ren anticipated Kobayakawa wanting answers on the calling cards and he knew he wouldn’t go to the police. Kamoshida hadn’t confessed yet but the portly principal had surely been in contact with both him and Shido and he definitely knew something involving the Phantom Thieves was fishy. He definitely knew about Ren flooring Kamoshida while delivering the calling card because a video of it had gone viral. Ren’s face was mercifully obscured.

He handed Makoto a small box.

“I thought this might be an issue in the future. The next time he calls you in, sneak this somewhere onto his desk. He won’t suspect you. Hit the button on the bottom.” She pulled a small bluetooth lapel mic out of the box. “It’s a microphone. It’ll record conversations and send them straight to my phone. We might get something we can use.” Makoto shifted on her heels uncomfortably. “I know this isn’t the kind of thing you thought you’d ever be doing but I don’t trust eggman.”

“...” She wasn’t sneaking and Ren could tell she wanted to argue. “Fine. I’ll do it.” She sighed. “It’s not like the Phantom Thief stuff wouldn’t get me expelled anyway. What’s taking another step?”

Ren wanted to point out the slippery slope fallacy but he decided against it, just glad he was able to get her to bug Kobayakawa. “Thank you. We’ll all meet after school. We’ve got a Mementos target to go after.”

===

Morning

‘I’m not doing anything, sir, just planting a bug in your office.’

Makoto felt like she should be having a rough day. She knew when she joined the Thieves that she couldn’t keep up the goody-two-shoes act forever but she didn’t think about possibly having to jump right into becoming a superspy.

If she was being completely honest with herself, though, she’d admit she’d never felt more alive.

‘What kind of order am I even taking?’ Makoto mused. She didn’t even ask what he was going to do with the recording. ‘Is he going to blackmail Kobayakawa?’ She was unsure what kind of involvement the principal could possibly have but he obviously turned a blind eye to Kamoshida. Now Makoto was curious if he held a larger role in the plot Ren was trying to dismantle.

‘The first thing I do after deciding I’m not going to be a pushover anymore is follow an order I don’t understand,’ Makoto thought in an attempt to stem her anger before it boiled over. ‘Okay. We’re going to do this and then we’ll talk to Ren. I need an explanation and I will never follow an order without being given a reason again.’

She steeled her nerves, knocked on the door and entered the room to see a very large, very round and very sweaty Kobayakawa glancing around the room nervously. They exchange courtesies but he isn’t good at hiding his urgency.

“I trust you’ve seen the calling cards?” He was trying to look authoritative and intimidating but Makoto had to stifle a laugh instead. She was reminded of the time Haru called him Humpty Dumpty. “Have you heard of these Phantom Thieves?”

Makoto took pride in the fact that she didn’t react, although she acknowledged that being proud of not freaking out was a form of freaking out. Then she realized Kobayakawa was staring.

“Sorry, sir, I haven’t heard much about it. I have entrance exams coming up as you know,” she said, leaning forward in her seat. Kobayakawa’s Formica-and-steel desk had a small opening between the steel backing and the false-wood desktop, a perfect location for the microphone. She slipped it in, a magnet attaching it to the desk. “Did something happen?”

“There have been some, erm, complications. As you know, those cards went up and now Mr. Kamoshida is out sick. We’re unsure when he will return but I’ve spoken to him and he’s nigh unintelligible.” Kobayakawa looked down at a piece of paper on his desk and then back up at Makoto. “I would like you to investigate the Phantom Thieves.”

‘I’m so mad I made that bet. What kind of favor could Ren even want?’ She stimied the thought, lest her cheeks turn red. Makoto eyed Kobayakawa down. “Sir, I don’t think this is appropriate. I’ve got entrance exams and Student Council duties on top of school already. I can’t just drop everything to investigate an urban legend.” Makoto surprised herself with how good she’d become at lying. Kobayakawa didn’t look surprised at the response.

He grumbled a bit, cleared his throat then looked at her. “I suppose I’ll have to be re-thinking that letter of recommendation. You obviously aren’t as reliable as I thought.”

“With all due respect, a letter of recommendation from you wouldn’t mean much if you’re putting this much stock into what looks like a prank.” Kobayakawa wilted under her glare. “May I go? You’re already taking up class time and I’m far too busy after school to ask what I missed.”

Kobayakawa didn’t expect that to go well but he didn’t expect to lose that badly. Makoto could see him sweating. “I suppose I’ll have to have a talk with your sister.” That got a slight start from Makoto. “You may go.”

===

Lunchtime

Kawakami approached Ren before lunchtime and warned him he was needed in the Student Council Room. Ren was struck by how exhausted the teacher looked.

“Why am I playing errand girl for a student?” Her cheeks drooped and there were bags under her eyes.

‘Another distraction but I can’t let this go.’

Ren started his march towards what would certainly be a manic Makoto.

She didn’t greet him when he entered the room to her sitting there quietly.

“You were right,” Makoto mumbled. She was handling the whole ‘time traveler’ thing better than he anticipated, but he could see the wheels turning.

“How’d it go?” This was a first for Ren. Makoto was usually the type to skirt around and pretend she was investigating.

“I told him he was wasting his time having me investigate an urban legend,” Makoto said. “Not really a lie, I guess. Legends aren’t always false and what we did would classify as legendary.”

“Damn straight,” Ren chuckled. He took a second to think. Their steps post Madarame usually relied on Makoto’s faux Phantom Thieves investigation. “Alright, so I know you don’t have the foresight that comes from doing this like, a bajillion times, but I’ve never had this scenario.” He sighed and pulled out his phone. “I’ve never actually gotten to use the bug, so maybe things will be different all around. Let’s see what Bob Evans said after you left.

Ren opened an app Futaba developed during the last loop and selected a filet that got uploaded to a cloud server a few minutes prior. He pressed play and Kobayakawa’s voice could be heard.

“Sir, I d-d-don’t have anyone that can conduct the investigation,” Kobayakawak spoke in a shaky voice. An angry voice could be hard but it wasn’t loud enough to be intelligible. “I… yes, sir. I understand. I’ll figure something out.”

Ren was about to stop the recording when Kobayakawa’s voice picked back up.

“Hello. I’d like to make a request.” There was a pause. “Makoto Niijima.”

Ren’s heart stopped while Makoto just looked surprised to hear her name.

“That piece of shit,” Ren said, pulling out his phone.

Ren: Meeting, 5 p.m. at LeBlanc. Something came up. Be ready to act.

“Ren, what’s wrong?” Fear crept into her voice.

“Um. Don’t overreact. Kobayakawa just put out a hit on you.”

===

Ren assured Makoto that nothing bad would happen to her because he wouldn’t let it.

His assurance hadn’t necessarily made her feel better but she had faith in him. There was nothing believable about everything the Phantom Thieves had been to through this point and while she didn’t believe a word about him being a time traveler, the concept was less farfetched than the idea of a whole separate reality made up of people’s thoughts. Makoto was pretty sure he also mentioned a malevolent god in there somewhere, which again, wasn’t as unbelievable as a thought-based ream world. It was still pretty unbelievable.

‘I am never eavesdropping again,’ she thought and then, ‘no, I’m definitely never not eavesdropping again.’

Makoto wasn’t thrilled to have a hit called on her but there was a certain pleasure in being chased down like in one of her movies.

‘I’m afraid I have developed a complex.’

===

Afternoon

Ren couldn’t pay attention in class. Ann had to turn around and glare at him multiple items to get him to stop clicking his pen. When he finally stopped, he started tapping his foot. When she turned around again to get him to stop tapping his foot, he started drumming on his desk with his fingers. It drove Ann nuts and drew glares from Kawakami at the head of the room.

He kept mulling over the options. If Kobayakawa was just a Mementos target, that would be easy peasy. They could hit up Nakanohara on the way and get the ball rolling on Madarame. Ren doubted, though, that someone who would order a hit on one of their students wouldn’t have a palace.

‘Seriously, why can’t Goro do what he did before but good?’ Ren thought about that for a second. Loki would be very useful but also terrifying to have as an ally. He didn’t like the amount of red he was seeing, especially since the worst thing that could happen was them all dying and him having to start over.’ Why can’t a change of heart be as easy as a mental shutdown?’

Ren really wanted tonight’s mission to be the easy route. The other route was too hairy: Traversing an unfamiliar palace with no navigator wasn’t simple and Futaba was months away. Akechi in a previous life had spent more time with Kobayakawa but he wasn’t as helpful right now. What Ren needed was a plan and it wouldn’t just fall into his lap.

===

After School

Ren tried to leave but he felt an excruciating pain in his right ear as Ann applied a small amount of torque. She let go and Ren clutched it. “Dude, what the hell?” His hearing in the ear was starting to return.

“Shiho shouted your name three times, then I shouted it twice. Everyone was staring,” Ann said as concern invaded her voice while she tried to sound angry.

“What’s with the meeting?” Shiho was always quicker to the point.

“If I was going to tell you now, in a public setting, why would I have a private meeting later?”

“Asshole-”

“Nope, not doing this right now,” Ann said. “No more poop jokes, no more awkward flirting. Where are you running off to?”

“Trying to find a navigator,” Ren said. “For the, uh, geocaching club. It’ll make life easier.”

Ann didn’t catch on but Shiho nudged her before she could ask what geocaching was. Ren continued. “I know one but she’s entrenched in some problems of her own right now and getting her out of the house is tough. I’m trying to expedite the process.”

Shiho knew better than to try and understand but Ann still looked confused. “Well, neither of us have anything to do so we’ll head to LeBlanc with you right now.”

They passed the alley where everything started and a wave of nostalgia washed over Ren. ‘I miss Ryuji.’

He didn’t look today; Shiho was regaling them with the tail of the new substitute volleyball coach, an apparently goofy young baseball coach who really needed a job and wasn’t put off by the fresh stain in Shujin’s reputation. Kamoshida hadn't confessed yet but his transgressions were now an open secret: Anyone who wanted to know would be told of the Phantom Thieves' calling card.

“He doesn’t really know what he’s doing but he gets the training right,” Shiho shared with enthusiasm. “Kamoshida never wanted us lifting weights, it was always just repetition, repetition, repetition. And corporal punishment. I guess that was repetition, too.” Her enthusiasm didn’t lessen despite the dark subject matter. “Every practice is different now. The captains mostly run things. Coach is trying but I’ve been running our film sessions. I’m almost enjoying that more than playing.”

Ren was proud that Shiho was looking up to a male authority figure so quickly after everything happened with Kamoshida. Shiho in this timeline wasn’t as heavily in the volleyball coach’s sights. She never had a knee injury. The only damage he’d ever seen was a giant bruise on the side of her neck that Ren was pretty sure didn’t come from volleyball.

“You’ll have to introduce me to him. Maybe we’ll find a gym teacher I actually get along with.”

Ann didn’t quite wince as Shiho talked about their new coach but Ren could tell something that made her uncomfortable. “Ren, there’s something you need to know about Iori-sensei. I’ll bring it up at our meeting.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t think it’s a bad thing. It’s just something to look for and a crowded train isn’t the place,” Shiho said.

The train would be stopping soon and the rest of the gang would meet at LeBlanc in about an hour. Ren still didn’t have a plan.

===

Two years earlier

“So, we both know this doesn’t end well, right?” Takuto Maruki, an intern working with Wakaba Isshiki, looked at his mentor. “ Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should,” he quoted in English from a movie he had watched with Rumi over the weekend.

Wakaba had received abnormally generous funding from the government for her life’s work. She hadn’t intended on providing them with false information but the existence of a cognitive world was better off left unknown. What she and her intern discovered must be hidden from the public for as long as possible.

Before her and her mentee was Shibuya station, but the coloring was off. A deep red, hazy, angry looking. Beyond, in the distance, were the shadows Wakaba had long feared. This was their first trip into what they would later call Mementos. They had no way to defend themselves.

‘Guns might be an option,’ Wakaba thought. ‘Our benefactors are used to looking beyond the law.’

“What are you doing here!?” Wakaba didn’t know what Takuto’s excuse was but she was completely lost in thought, thus having no awareness of the black, cat-like figure approaching them. “Are you… _humans?_!” 

He was certainly happier than most cats Wakaba knew. “Are you a shadow?”

“Absolutely not. I’m an honest to god human,” the definitely not-a-cat replied. “I’ve been fighting my way up here. I finally made it only to find you two standing here. Can you get me out of here?”

===

Ren, Ann and Shiho were greeted by a death glare from a diminutive figure with bright orange hair, a green jacket and a comically oversized pair of headphones around her neck. Ren’s face brightened immediately as he ran across LeBlanc and wrapped Futaba in a hug.

“Ew! He’s gross!” Futaba pushed him away. “Mom, get him to go away!”

“Kid, I don’t know what’s gotten into you but-”

“Oh, please, Soji,” An attractive woman in glasses rolled her eyes. “You told me he’s a weirdo. We should’ve expected this.”

Ren looked over at her and his eyes widened. “Wakaba?”

“See? Apparently he knows us,” Wakaba smiled. “No offense, kid, but I have no idea who you are.”

Ren ignored her. “We’re saved.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated 2-12-21: The original version of this chapter had an incredibly wonky timeline that I felt the need to go back and fix. I have a greater overall plan for this story and other stories, so expect some of the structure in the older chapters to change. The overall story will remain the same.


	4. Metaphysically Restrained

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe I thought this was going to be a shorter chapter. 
> 
> I listen to a lot of music while I write. These first four (and the fifth) chapters, I was enjoying R.A.P. Ferreira's "Purple Moonlight Pages." I'd be lying if I said certain tracks didn't inspire parts of this chapter.

_Two years prior..._

Wakaba's terrible gut feeling persisted when she returned home. Neither she nor Takuto knew what to expect. They both suspected, upon hours of deliberation, that they had ended up inside Tokyo’s cognition after fiddling with an app Takuto found on his phone after a strange dream featuring a man with a long nose and a voice that, while not as grating, wasn’t unlike that of Salad Fingers. He was accompanied by a tall European-looking woman with blonde hair and distinctive yellow eyes. 

The man with the long nose was explicit that he not tell anyone the contents of their meeting ‘until the time came.’ Takuto used a mocking, booming and dramatic voice as he relayed the quote. It was the first time Wakaba had ever heard him raise his voice. “How will I know when the time comes?” It’s the most obvious question one can ask, but Igor didn’t provide an answer. Takuto didn’t really expect an answer. He assumed, though, that standing at the entrance to the Cognitive Shibuya train terminal was the proper time for an explanation before Wakaba, as brilliant as she was, suffered an aneurysm. 

Wakaba’s and Takuto’s minds shared similar thoughts; she was desperate to know the whole story and made it known.

“Now… what, exactly, happened in that dream?” She had asked with some hesitation in her voice. She expected cognitive psience to lead to the supernatural. She didn’t expect it to lead to a foreboding subway that created a trail to the center of the earth.

Takuto started to lay out what he remembered; the man, Igor, the woman, Margaret, and a game, one that they would not be there for. “Margaret said she would be elsewhere, helping as she’s allowed.” Igor didn’t explain his or Margaret’s limits, the young researcher relayed. “I’m ‘representing a force greater than that of Yaldabaoth.’ I don’t know what that means.” Takuto took a second to try and remember what was said after that. “What Igor said after that wasn’t original. I’ve heard it elsewhere when I was an undergrad.”

“Become so very free that your whole existence is an act of rebellion,” Takuto spoke it in the clearest English he could muster. “It’s a quote from Albert Camus.” He took a second before continuing. “He didn’t believe in gods but he believed in fate; the fate of being fellow sufferers in a fundamentally absurd situation.” 

“It was his call to embrace our situation for its absurdity and responsibility, and for the possibility of joy and passion, even without hope or sentimentality. He called that an act of rebellion, by itself.”

Wakaba thought of the last day. Absurd didn’t begin to describe it. The cat, Morgana, had come home with her; Futaba had been begging for a cat anyway, and what cat better than one with human intelligence? And for Wakaba, Morgana provided two other benefits. 1) She was no longer raising Futaba alone. Sure, Sojiro never had an issue dropping everything to take care of Futaba, but relying on him when he had a cafe to run wasn’t fair. ‘I don’t know how that man makes any money, for as often as he drops everything for me.’

2) Morgana understood cognitive psience. He had explanations for everything. He didn’t quite know who made him or what his purpose was, but he knew how to get to other cognitive worlds besides Mementos. Wakaba needed Morgana for her research.

‘Well, it helps that he’s cute and snuggly,’ Wakaba thought. She didn’t know she wanted a cat until she had one. The only negative she could think of was how expensive it was to buy sushi for three instead of two. 

===

_In the present day…_

Shiho and Ann shared a stare while Sojiro admonished Ren for his odd behavior.

“Kid, you’ve been on your best behavior so far but the first thing…” Ren wasn’t really listening; he couldn’t. If he could awaken Futaba, their Makoto problem just solved itself. Infiltrating a palace became infinitely easier with a navigator and Ren doubted Kobayakawa would be any more difficult than, say, Okumura or Futaba’s palaces were. As they were right now, the Phantom Thieves were the most competent group of fighters he’d ever had. Even a low-level navigator would put them over the top. 

“Boss, I’m sorry. I was surprised, is all.” Ren apologized when Sojiro finished. There was no point in mouthing off right now. He had to talk to Fut-it hit Ren.

Ren’s sweatiness jumped another level as his brain finally processed that he was meeting a real-life, honest-to-god, living and breathing Wakaba Isshiki. 

“Who is this guy!?” A boyish voice came from the cat as Ren’s heart entered his throat. ‘I’m not going to cry. I’m not going to cry. Nope. Not crying. This isn’t going to happen.’

So he didn’t cry. 

He passed out instead.

===

The world came back alive and Ren opened his eyes to the sight of the attic’s rafters.

“Did you really get so excited over a cat that you passed out?” Shiho mocked Ren, only for Ann to smack the back of her head. “Ow, I’m just saying, why is our leader such a weirdo?”

“We’re a group of vigilantes fighting crime inside people’s hearts, do you expect our leader to not be a weirdo?” Ann had a point, Ren thought. “Besides, it’s part of his charm.”

 _“Oh, so I’m not allowed to flirt with Ren but you are?_ ” Shiho raised her voice; there was no way Sojiro and Wakaba didn’t hear them. Ren heard their footsteps as they came up the stairs, but Morgana beat them to the peak of the steps. Ren had sat up in his bed in the meantime, and the cat took the chance to climb into his lap.

“Oh, he’s warm,” Morgana purred as he rubbed his face into Ren’s t-shirt. Wakaba, Sojiro and Futaba had made it up the stairs in the meantime. “I like him. Wakaba, can we keep him?” Everyone in the room except Sojiro stifled a laugh while Morgana gave as dumbfounded a look as his little kitty face could muster. “Can you all understand me?” Shiho and Ann glanced at each other and nodded. Ren followed suit, patting Morgana on the head. 

Ren knew Sojiro couldn’t understand the cat but he was surprised Futaba could. It sure would speed things up quite a bit if they didn’t have to take her through an awakening.

“It appears,” Wakaba looked around at the three teenagers, “that we have something we need to discuss.” 

As if on cue, LeBlanc’s bells chimed and Makoto started up the stairs with Goro bringing up the rear. 

“Uh, what did I miss?” Makoto asked when she noticed how heavily populated LeBlanc’s attic was.

Sojiro let out a grunt that might have sounded closer to a sigh. “I’ll close up for the night. I’m going home. I don’t know what’s going on and I don’t want to know. Futaba, are you staying?”

The orange-haired girl nodded.

“Don’t do anything stupid. Wakaba, you remember our deal. Stay safe.”

Wakaba let out a “ha,” followed by “When have I ever been trouble?”

“We’re going to get along very well,” Ren said, chuckling. It was good to see that Sojiro was still getting shit from _someone_ even when he wasn’t around.

===

Ren manned the bar, brewing coffee for everyone. The Thieves lined down the barstools while Wakaba and Futaba shared a booth. Morgana sat between them, his body resting on Wakaba’s lap but his face resting on Futaba’s. She poked and prodded and squished his face. He seemed more used to it this time around, rarely making a noise as she tormented the not-a-cat.

Ren set a cup of coffee (Blue Mountain, Sojiro had told him in a past life, was Wakaba’s favorite) in front of Wakaba and a cup of minty hot cocoa in front of Futaba. ‘Her favorite,’ Ren knew. He didn’t ask, but he was hopeful she wouldn’t be creeped out.

Wakaba took a sip of her coffee. “Wow. Almost as good as Sojiro.”

“I’ll be honest, I’m a bit insulted you don’t think I’m better,” Ren replied. “Age before beauty, I guess.”

“I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for the old-timer, give him a break,” Wakaba eyed Ren. Ren wasn’t sure if she was trying to give him a hard look; it only looked like she was trying but she was definitely failing. Morgana taking such a quick liking to him had weakened her resolve. “You remind me of him, a bit.”

“You’d be surprised how often I hear that,” he nodded towards Ann and Shiho behind them. “They’ve been bugging me for the last month about him being my real dad.” Ren and Sojiro didn’t look alike but Ren spending decades learning everything about Sojiro taught him a thing or two. “I doubt he's my mom's type.” 'Do I even have a mom?'

Wakaba chuckled and then looked around the room. Makoto was arguing over homework with Goro: English translations were difficult, neither of them was fluent, and they were both impossibly stubborn. Ann and Shiho were making eyes at each other, but if anyone pointed it out, they’d both blush before going back to their usual mutual torment. Futaba had moved on to rubbing Morgana’s belly while the symbol of humanity’s hope made noises only the one thing he claimed he wasn’t could make. “You guys seem like good kids.” Where’s the but? Ren though. “You’re the Phantom Thieves.”

Ren didn’t have a good explanation as to why they could all understand Morgana. Akechi was still weary but it seems nothing would phase Makoto at this point. She introduced herself as courteously to Morgana as she had Wakaba and Futaba. “...yeah.” Ren thought for a second. “You’re the head cognitive psience researcher for the government, right?”

Wakaba was nonplussed. “Well, civilians aren’t supposed to know that, but I’m not in that position anymore.” She looked down into her lap where Morgana once sat. “I started working for a private firm last year. When the Kamoshida news broke and the Phantom Thieves went public, I was tasked with finding them.”

This was all completely new to Ren but a wave of relief hit him when Wakaba said she was far away from her government research. Ren wanted to ask why she left, but he didn’t. ‘She’s every bit as friendly as Sojiro said she would be. I think we’ll let her tell us if she wants to.’ “Well, you found them. In two days. Are we being detained?”

“God, no. I was poached by this group to do the opposite of what I was before. We’re trying to prevent shadows from taking over, not use them to take over the country.” Ren’s non-reaction to Wakaba’s unveiling of a conspiracy surprised her. “How much do you know?”

“Of you? If you want that story, I’m clearing the room,” Ren said. “Of shadows? Your daughter’s got the expert purring like a kitten.” 

“Not a cat!” Morgana shouted. 

“I know, buddy, that’s why I said ‘like a kitten,’” Ren shot back. 

“Wakaba, can we keep Ren?” Everyone started laughing again.

Wakaba let the laughter die down. “I’ll think about it, Morgana,” she said with a small smile. “Ren, come upstairs with me. I have some questions and I’m sure you don’t want your dirty laundry aired in front of everyone.”

‘It’s really not that dirty at this point,’ Ren thought. ‘She doesn’t know how over the assault I really am.’

“That’s fine. Guys, we’ll be back soon, and after, I think we have a new target to go after.” He looked at Makoto. “I didn’t forget about you. We’re taking care of this immediately.”

===

Wakaba took a seat on the couch and Ren wheeled over his desk chair.

“This was my couch from my college dorm. I can’t believe Sojiro didn’t pitch it,” Wakaba thought about all the good times she’d had on that couch. She pointed to a stain on the right armrest. “I invited Sojiro and some friends over and we played King’s Game. Sojiro wasn’t much of a drinker. We couldn’t get the stain out.” She thought for a second. “I’m sure the germs from the stain are dead though.”

“I really can’t imagine Sojiro drinking like that,” Ren said. “I always imagined him being a ‘scotch on the rocks’ guy.”

“Now, maybe, but back then it was whatever was cheap. College kids can’t be too picky.” Wakaba shook her head. “We need to get on track. I could reminisce all day but that doesn’t change that you’re a Phantom Thief.” Silence hung in the air. “My employer is very interested in you, I’ll admit, but this conversation will not go to them. You have my word.”

‘Not that they have anything to worry about,’ Wakaba thought. ‘If they can get any proof, cognitive or otherwise, Kirijo-san would probably send all the operatives and end Shido quickly.’

“I’ll get to it. The assault. You didn’t do anything, correct?” Ren nodded. 

“Yeah. I had some bad luck. I thought I was saving a woman from getting sexually assaulted. Instead, Masayoshi Shido tried to ruin my life.” Actually, Masayoshi Shido ruined Ren’s life somewhere around 112 times now. Ren was distracting himself in class by counting all the loops he could remember. “Did you know it was Shido?”

Wakaba nodded. “We suspected. It’s right out of his playbook. And he’s been after our research for a while. He’s got some of it.” She gritted her teeth. “I have my own reasons for going after him.” 

‘You have about 112 reasons if I’m thinking about it.’ “I understand.” Ren had never met Wakaba before outside of the giant sphinx that was trying to kill them but he wanted to trust her. So he did, because what harm was there in making a mistake? He’d just flashback to the moment he ‘assaulted’ Shido. “Our school principal ordered a mental shutdown on Makoto.”

Wakaba’s eyes widened and her eyebrows raised. “Okay. I’m not going to freak. Your principal is in with Shido.”

“Yes.”

“He ordered a shut down on…”

“Yeah, he ordered a shut down on Makoto because she refused to investigate the Phantom Thieves.” Ren paused to see if Wakaba had a reaction. “She’s our Student Council President and extremely reliable. He picked up on that and thought she could take us down. He doesn’t know that she’s one of us. I’ll be real, I expected him to go after Sae, maybe. But never Makoto.”

“The prosecutor? Niijima-san?” Ren nodded. “He couldn’t go after her by himself.”

“Ah, so you know about Sae’s palace, then.” Wakaba nodded. It wasn’t a question. “Tokyo could honestly do with a casino right downtown. That courthouse is a waste of space.”

A laugh bubbled up that Wakaba couldn’t contain. “Not much rattles you, does it? To think you’re the same guy that passed out over my cat earlier.”

“I… it’s been a long time. I’m happy whenever I can see my friends alive again.” Ren spoke without thinking, thought about it, then didn’t stop himself. “I’ve met Morgana before. He was one of my best friends.” Ren struggled to think about those he’s lost, even if some of them were sitting in LeBlanc at this very second, sharing coffee and a laugh with each other.

“But we were the first people that Morgana met, he even told us that,” Wakaba said. “We’re the first humans he’d ever run into.”

Ren let out a long sigh and remained silent.

“What if I told you I was a time traveler?”

Wakaba looked at him.

“Like Dio?”

“Good lord, your daughter said the same thing.” Ren let out a somber laugh. “Like Groundhog Day. I’ve re-lived this same year of my life, sometimes a little longer, about 112 times. There were two timelines I can think of where I went about three years, but nearly every timeline, we fight Yaldabaoth, then come to in the middle of assaulting Shido.”

“Yaldabaoth…” Wakaba paled. “Ren, go downstairs. I have a call to make. And don’t think I’m ignoring the fact that my daughter knew you were a time traveler before I did.” The color returned to her face. “Also, Groundhog Day? I was kidding when I said you reminded me of Sojiro but that's...” Wakaba's rant seemed neverending.

'Definitely Futaba's mother.'

It was story time yet again; the air in the room started to feel gross and stale to Ren. He never thought he’d be explaining Wakaba’s fake suicide to Wakaba herself.

She listened to the whole story rapt, no shock in her facial expressions or body language, Ren noticed. He finished the story, reaching the end of Futaba’s palace. “Well, on the bright side, you probably won’t get turned into a mouse again” were Wakaba’s first words after hearing the story of her apparent suicide.

“Actually, we probably will, but that’s a longer story and might break the timeline,” Ren looked thoughtful. “So, you’ve been into the Metaverse and Futaba has been there because she can understand Morgana. Do you have a Persona?”

Wakaba nodded. “We both do.” Wakaba thought for a second. “You said you had a new target. Let me make a phone call. It might not be necessary.”

===

Ren left Wakaba downstairs while Wakaba scrolled through her contacts and found a number she hadn’t called in a long time.

“Hey,” she hadn’t called Takuto in over a year.

“Never expected a business call from you.”

“That call you got from the Shujin principal, on Niijima. Ignore it. Please, for me.”

“I don’t disappear high school girls; she’ll be okay. The principal won’t be.”

“Thanks.”

The line went dead.

Downstairs, Futaba was resting with her headphones on and Morgana on her lap, listening to every word her mom just said.

“What.”

===

Wakaba walked down the stairs. She’d been a bit longer than anticipated. The call was brief but she took time to get her hands to stop shaking. Contacting Takuto was always stressful. She never knew who was listening and if who was listening knew who she was. If they had, she’d be in danger. Having a Persona protected her from a mental shutdown, she knew, but these guys had connections elsewhere.

“I solved your problem,” She looked at Makoto. “I’m sorry, you must have been very stressed.” She knew from the looks Futaba and Ren were giving her that she needed to provide an explanation. “Futaba, I asked you months ago to stop bugging my phone.”

Futaba looked down but then looked back defiantly. “No, you don’t get to be angry at me right now. Who. Were. You. Talking to?” Goro had gotten between Wakaba and the door.

‘Hilarious,’ Ren thought. Eight timelines ago that would have been menacing. Now Wakaba’s original killer was afraid of spiders and was most recently found feeding the rats down Takemi’s alley.

“I called my former partner, Takuto,” Wakaba said flatly. “He’s still working for Shido.”

The room deflated.

“He’s the person expected to shut down Makoto.” There was no point in hiding it. If Ren was indeed stuck in Groundhog Day, a lie here would cause harm in future timelines. She couldn’t imagine a future where she wasn’t on the side of Kirijo-san, or the Phantom Thieves. “They weren’t going to do it anyway.” She pointed at Makoto. “You: Stay home from school for the next two days. Or go, and avoid the principal at all costs. Once he finds out he’s not getting his way, I don’t know how he’ll act.”

An unasked question hung in the air.

“Takuto isn’t a bad person. He’s stuck in a bad spot.” They’d had their arguments. After Wakaba cut ties, Takuto was right behind her as planned. Except his departure was telegraphed. He struggled with subtleties. His work slacked and his attitude wavered. Everyone noticed. What set him and Wakaba apart from others was their enthusiasm towards cognitive psience that had only grown once they were able to start making regular trips into the Metaverse. “He’s trying to protect someone.”

‘His story to tell,’ Ren thought. ‘If he’s a player, we’ll meet him soon anyway.’ Ren was just glad to have a name to go by, instead of vaguely referring to Black Mask constantly.

Ren took the time to read the room. The mood had died down considerably with Wakaba’s confession. “Thank you.” Ren glanced at Wakaba apologetically. “For your honesty. I think it’s best you leave, for now.”

“I understand. Futaba-” 

“No. I’m staying here. I can’t be alone with you right now.” Futaba was still angry. ‘There’s something more there,’ Ren thought. “I’ll stay with Sojiro tonight.”

Wakaba gave a frustrated sigh. “Okay, dear. I’m sorry. Ren, could you walk her home after you guys are done?”

Ren tried to smile but it came off as crooked. Too much tension in the air. “Of course.” He waved her off. “I’ll talk to you again; Sojiro can get me your number.”

Wakaba said her goodbyes and walked out the door.

===

The Phantom Thieves gathered in a booth with Futaba; Morgana hadn’t left her lap since Wakaba left. “So,” Makoto started. “Futaba, what exactly did you hear?”

Futaba set her phone on the table and pressed the play button, replaying Wakaba’s conversation with the mental shutdown culprit. The group sat in silence, save Morgana, who snored softly.

“That’s, well, that’s not as bad as I expected,” Makoto said. “From what we know, she was honest with us.”

Futaba’s eyes were starting to well but she wasn’t letting herself cry. “If she knew the culprit the entire time, doesn’t not doing something make her just as bad as him? And I’m an accomplice?”

Futaba recalled her awakening; it came at the behest of Wakaba’s former partner. Takuto and Wakaba thought they had enough of a handle on fighting in the Metaverse that they thought it would be safe. They didn’t, and it wasn’t.

===

_Several months prior_

Futaba had never been more excited for anything in her life: This included last Christmas when her mom bought her all the parts to build her dream machine, the computer she’d spent every single second she possibly could on. Wakaba knew her daughter was Medjed, the Hacker of Justice, but it seemed like she’d abandoned that post as of late in favor of playing with her friend, Kana. Futaba was never a normal 14-year-old; she had an eidetic memory and she was the top of her class in school, but she didn’t have many friends outside of the cat that Futaba suspected could talk even though she couldn’t understand him. She marched to the beat of her own drum, mostly. She wasn’t the type to get lonely. 

So, when Futaba came home from school with a question about Kana’s family, Wakaba was one-part thrilled and one-part mortified that her daughter’s only friend had parents selling naughty photos of their daughter online. 

‘Well, Takuto and I have been changing the hearts of some of our comrades,’ Wakaba thought. ‘What’s helping a child?’

She and Takuto had been using the Metaverse for research, but they would regularly run into the shadows of their coworkers. They surmised that defeating their shadow would rid them of their unethical behavior at work but once they began, turnover in their office skyrocketed. Nobody was comfortable working there anymore, knowing what they were doing. These researchers would get replaced by people less likely to have shadows, or at least Wakaba thought. One person, Nakanishi, had a full-blown palace that her and Takuto explored but didn’t take down. They expected it might make an important training ground, later.

Futaba trailed behind them as Takuto, Wakaba and Morgana took out shadow after shadow in search of Kana’s parents. She was enthralled by Mementos and in particular the Path of Chemdah, it’s red hugh reminding her of the games she spent hours playing instead of sleeping. She was also jazzed to know that she was right; Morgana could talk, and she could understand him now. “This is amaze-balls.” She said in wonder at one point; Morgana chided her for using the phrase ‘amaze-balls.’ “I just got admonished by my cat. This is completely normal.”

Wakaba and Takuto were far stronger than the shadows they fought, Futaba noticed. The numerous mythological beasts they fought didn’t stand a chance as Futaba listed them off in her head as she watched. “Hua Po, Koropokkuru, Mokoi… Wow. All products of the human consciousness.”

The outfits, Futaba supposed, must have been part of the Persona. Her mother was normally a conservative dresser: At work she wore slacks and a collared shirt and at home she wore jeans and a hoodie unless it was too warm. Then she’d steal one of Sojiro’s t-shirts and tuck it in. Wakaba was a cheapskate. Her outfit in the Metaverse reflected that. If Futaba didn’t know any better, she’d guess her mother was homeless. Her mask looked more like a paper bag but it was solid in her hands. She wore a brown trenchcoat stained with black spots that looked like tar. There was a white tank top and cargo pants under the coat. Her typical brown casual shoes hadn’t changed.

Maruki-san’s outfit was vastly different. Gone were the bright lab coat, replaced by a gold coat and gold mask, dark dress pants and the strangest pair of sneakers Futaba had ever seen: Gold with wings coming off the side.

Her mom’s Persona was Horus: The Egyptian God of the Sky. Maruki-san’s Persona wasn’t something Futaba recognized; “Azathoth,” he would shout. He was such a mild-mannered man; seeing a monster behind him was unnerving. It wasn’t anything like him. Her mother had told her that the Personas were products of the masks they wore: Seeing such a beast come from Maruki-san made Futaba want to not trust him.

===

They’d fought and defeated Kana’s parents handily. Futaba blinked and missed it. 

“Okay, that’s it for today,” Her mother had said before hearing the rattling of chains. Chemdah’s atmosphere became oppressive, even Futaba could feel it.

“Mom… what’s happening?” Wakaba had a panicked expression; Maruki-san’s matched. They scrambled as quickly as Futaba’s little legs would let her. Morgana was ahead of all of them. ‘Curse my small stature,’ she thought. They almost reached the exit of the floor, taking them back up to a rest area. Almost. 

Covered in a black-hooded robe and surrounded by chains was death, Futaba thought. “The Grim Reaper is real…”

Chains shot out towards Futaba but Maruki-san stepped in the way, taking the hit. He shouted at the other two to run but the Reaper cut them off and cast a spell at Wakaba.

She collapsed, bringing Futaba to the ground with her, hugging her so tight that Futaba could barely breathe, endlessly apologizing for bringing her here. It took seconds for the Reaper to take down Morgana, as well.

“Mom, you need to calm down,” Futaba wasn’t sure what was needed of her, but Maruki wasn’t holding his own and they needed a way out. Her mom wouldn’t stop crying and apologizing. “Mom, it’s alright. I love you.” Futaba had resigned herself to their fate as Maruki lay on the ground in front of her, struggling to breathe.

_There is a way out._

A voice, that of a woman, smooth and calm.

_The many injustices you’ve righted only for your own amusement have led you here._

_The actions of another have saved you from strife. I will allow you to repay that debt, if you so please_.

“Yes.” Futaba said, resolving to save her mother and her partner.

 _Then I grant you this gift_.

“Prometheus!” Futaba shouted, a ball of light appearing behind her, blinding the Reaper. Her Persona’s lights dimmed, and it became a black ball lined with rainbow lights, like a happy Death Star. 

Futaba was able to gather her mother, Morgana and Maruki-san inside of the spacecraft; it was cramped but doable. She piloted them out of Mementos while whistling the Star Wars theme.

===

Ren grinned as she ended the story, Futaba’s contagious enthusiasm lightening the mood and her falsettoing of the Star Wars theme nearly killing everyone in the room in the best way possible. 

Futaba laughed again as she searched for her glasses, which had flown off her face during a particularly animated portion of the retelling. “I need to apologize to my mom.” 

Ren, and the rest of the Phantom Thieves, nodded in agreement.

“She should have told me. But I’m also a kid, and this sounds dangerous. She isn’t going to let me help.” She looked at Ren; he could see the resolve in her eyes. “That’s why you guys are going to let me help. You don’t have a navigator and that’s what I’m best at.”

Ren looked around, everyone again nodding in agreement.

“It’s unanimous. Welcome to the Phantom Thieves.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The bit about Camus is not something original to me. The explanation was simplified by Reddit user mediaisdelicious. I didn't quote him, exactly, but I felt it was important to cite where I heard it. It came during a discussion on askphilosophy about two Albert Camus works, "The Myth of Sisyphus" and "The Rebel." The first is meditation on living and not living and the implications of suicide. The second is a meditation on living as an act of rebellion. These explanations come from each books' foreword. 
> 
> I didn't anticipate Wakaba, Maruki or Futaba being central to the story, but I realized there were so many things that I needed to explain and I didn't have a better avenue to explain them. I apologize if things feel lost in the weeds on occasion, but I promise, I have a direction I'm heading for. Thank you for reading!
> 
> Chapter 5, as it is, could go up right now. But I'm going to release a larger chapter Saturday. I have a string of days off work, nothing else to do, a strong outline to work off of, and I'm trying to stay sober. That's a good environment for fan fiction production.
> 
> Update 2-13-21: Hey! A chapter I went over again that didn't make me cringe! So I'm not gaslighting my readers, I adjusted a reference to Ren's mother that came before I planned some things later in the story.


	5. Where Everybody Knows Your Name

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I split chapter 5 into three parts because I have no self control.

The Phantom Thieves filed out of the cafe, exhausted, but none as exhausted as Ren. He had but one task left for a day in which he was woken up two hours earlier than normal following a night where he was up two hours later than normal. 

Luckily, the scourge of not-evil Akechi was out of his hair for the night. He’d spent the day getting acclimated to his own room. It was the first time he’d had his own room since his mom passed away, he’d told the Phantom Thieves after it was decided Futaba would join them. It was an unexpectedly tender moment that Ren never expected to share with his former arch enemy. 

The night’s tender moments ate at Ren.

Long ago had he given up on having truly meaningful relationships with his friends. At best, these people were stand-ins: Shadows of his past that only existed to torment him with what he could not have. He longed for a future he would never see. There would be a fight with a god at the end of his journey. He would plant a bullet in that god’s skull. He would turn himself in. He would go to jail. His friends would get him out. They’d work their asses off, petitioning and sharing their stories, showcasing just how much of an impact Ren had had on their lives.

And Ren wouldn't live long enough to benefit from any of it. The ninth time through was the first time Ren had tried to end things early with an immediate fight with Yaldabaoth that only went against him because he went in alone. He was joyous, thinking the nightmare was over, as Yaldobaoth ended his life.

And then he woke up. Again, again and again. And then he woke up. Again and again and again. The woman’s shouts, the strong whiskey stench. “Damn brat, I’ll sue!” Ren even made it worth it a few times. Breaking Shido’s fucking jaw was satisfying, but the feeling was fleeting. The full year of solitary confinement he got after wasn’t fun. And then he woke up.

‘Fucking damn it.’ Ren had walked Futaba to Sojiro’s house. She was happy, like he’d always wanted her to be. Like it had broken his heart before when she couldn’t be. Even when she got her revenge, as with the rest of the Thieves, it wasn’t enough. It didn’t fill the gap her mother left when she died. And now she had her mother. And Ren would wake up. Not right now, but some day. And he’d have to see her sad again. 

And he’d have to see Akechi fighting on the other side again. And he’d have to see Makoto just following orders again. And he’d have to see Ann get in the car with that creep again. And he’d have to see Shiho jump again.

Ren sobbed when he returned to the attic. There would be no sleep that night. He’d been so happy earlier. To meet Wakaba, to see Morgana again, to witness Sojiro’s gruff demeanor evaporate. To see Futaba hold a conversation without fear. None of it mattered, because it would all be taken away in a blink some time next March. 

Futaba had thanked him for letting her get involved, not quite knowing how much she meant to him. She gave him a hug before he could start walking back. 

Ren was able to stop crying, for just a minute. “I’m finding a way out. I’m not resetting again.” It was a demand to the universe, or to whatever being was holding him hostage. 

He walked to the window: He remembered sneaking out to be with Makoto in one of the early time loops. It was a romantic night spent at Inokashira Park. She wore a blue sweater that fit like a dress with leggings. Ren didn’t try to date anymore. It felt disrespectful, knowing how meaningless it all was. 

Outside in the streetlights, he saw blonde hair. It was a tall woman in a blue dress not unlike what Makoto wore that night. Ren swore she looked him in the eye. And then she vanished.

In a Yongen-Jaya alley, Margaret whispered. “I can oblige, Trickster.”

Back in Ren’s attic, he was in a sound sleep he thought would never come, dreaming of a long-nosed man in a Blue Velvet Room, and a young girl with a soft voice. The man spoke words he couldn’t understand but it wasn’t the Barry-White-with-a-cold voice Ren expected from the imposter. It was the real Igor, a voice he’d only heard after fleeting victory. This Velvet Room wasn’t the prison Ren was used to. It changed every few seconds. A bowling alley. A batting cage. A graveyard. Shujin’s rooftop. A stadium. A research lab. 

The rest of Ren’s sleep was dreamless and peaceful. He awoke that Sunday morning with a heavy weight on his chest. Ren assumed it was a dream until he noticed the weight’s fluctuation. Morgana was sleeping on top of him, just like old times. The not-a-cat stirred; Wakaba had dropped Morgana off after she came by to pick up Futaba. She’d had business to attend to, Morgana relayed. “Business I can’t attend, can you believe that?” Morgana stewed. Ren shoe'd Morgana off his chest and sat up. 

He got dressed in jeans and a hoodie, the only one he had that wasn’t stolen by Ann or Shiho, and made his way downstairs.

“Kid, you’ve got a letter.” Sojiro slid it down the counter, next to an already laid out plate of curry and cup of coffee. Futaba and Wakaba shared a booth on the far end of the restaurant. They were carrying on, like Futaba wasn’t furious just yesterday. It was the kind of sight that would have lifted Ren on a bad day but today had been so good, he couldn’t help but smile. ‘I’m glad it didn’t come between them.’ He looked at Sojiro.

“It’s Sunday.” 

“I know. It didn’t have postage. Someone must have dropped it in the box.”

The envelope was a deep blue and sealed with gold wax, stamped with a symbol reading “V.R.” Ren broke the seal and unfolded the letter to find it carefully handwritten.

_Trickster,_

_Long have you been at the mercy of a never-ending game between malevolent gods. You have saved the world in many different timelines. It is time your past, present and future bonds repay this severe debt. There will be a door in a back alley near your domain. That is the only entrance to the Velvet Room in which you will be safe._

_See you soon,_

_Lavenza._

===

Ren wandered Yongen-Jaya on his way to the alley near Takemi’s office. He wasn’t lost; he was nervous, anticipating a visit to a Velvet Room in which he had never been. ‘Procrastination doesn’t fit you well, Trickster,’ a soft voice warned him. It had been decades since he truly felt this anxious. There’s a certain calm he achieved from his foresight that had been shattered. Even when things were slightly different, he knew the direction they’d end up in. But now? He was having strange dreams from a different Velvet Room featuring the real Igor, potentially. And Lavenza was whole again? Ren didn’t have a clue what was happening. 

What Ren did know was that this beautiful Sunday wasn’t getting wasted. It may lead to a fight, he thought. But, it might also lead to answers. He thought he had long abandoned the search for answers, absorbed into his own misery and hopelessness. If there was going to be a fight, he could prepare; it’s not procrastinating if it’s in the name of preparedness.

He entered Dr. Takemi’s Clinic to two mild surprises: First, the music was much quieter than usual for a reason that had more to do with the second mild surprise: Akechi was sitting at reception reading _The Myth of Sisyphus_ while Takemi presumably rocked out by herself in a back office. Heavy base, screeching guitars and an angry voice could be heard from wherever Takemi may be: “We're setting the fires to light the way. We're burning it all to begin again. With hope in our hearts and bricks in our hands. We sing for change.”All in English. Ren didn’t know that one. The music started to get louder; Takemi heard the door’s bell. She carried a small speaker in her pocket. “We run on the fumes of injustice, we’ll-” she hit pause on her phone. Akechi finally looked up, unaware there was another soul in the room. 

“Ren, how’s it going?” Takemi was back to her old self: A bit informal, quick to smirk if she found something even the slightest bit funny. Ren liked that about her. They hadn’t spoken since the day Ren discovered she’d tested on Akechi. 

“I’m good, Doc, I just need to talk to you for a minute.” There was no need for specifics, Ren thought. Just in case anyone walked in at the wrong time, it was best he kept non-private conversation vague. Takemi guided him back to an exam room.

“Preparing for a fight?” She raised an eyebrow from him. “Goro-kun can’t go with you today, he’s working.”

“I noticed that; I’m surprised you’re putting him to work,” Ren replied.

Takemi sighed. “He made me. He’s so convinced that he’s being a burden. I haven’t had another soul besides me in that stupid apartment for years. I was supposed to look for a roommate anyway.” She laughed. “He’s got his own room, his own bed, clothes, everything, and I’d still never guess he was even there. The kid really doesn’t leave any tracks behind.”

Ren’s first thought leaned towards suspicion but Akechi had yet to do anything suspicious; his own bias shouldn’t cloud how he change how he views the current Akechi, Ren told himself. “Makes sense. Homeless people don’t exactly get off easy. If he left a mess wherever he slept the night before, it could lead to charges.”

“I just don’t understand how he was ever homeless. He’s brilliant. I was trying to get him into a high school and I think we’re finding that he’s beyond that.” Ren knew of his brilliance first hand. “I was thinking of getting him into Shujin. You all go there anyway, so he’d already have friends. If rumors got out of his background, he’d still have you guys.”

Ren thought about it. There were no strings he could pull at Shujin to get Akechi in the door, but there were strings that Makoto could pull. ‘Am I really about to stage an investigation of the Phantom Thieves to help fucking Akechi?’ Ren sighed inwardly. ‘God damn it. I am.’

“I have a friend that might be able to pull some strings. It’s going to take some finagling but I think we’re capable.” Especially after finding out Makoto wasn’t in any real danger. Wakaba being friends with the assassin was an unforeseen advantage. 

Ren purchased some recovery items from Takemi and promised to stay out of trouble. He hoped she’d forget about the fight she mentioned earlier.

She grabbed his shoulder before he could leave. “Are you heading for a fight?” Ren didn’t know, so he told her as such.

“I don’t know. I just know I don’t really trust the party I’m meeting with.” ‘God, that really sounded like I’m heading for a drug deal.’ ‘...’ ‘Wait, I just bought drugs, though.’ ‘...’ ‘Anyway, that still sounded shady as fuck.’

Takemi sighed, gave Ren a hard look and wished him luck.

Ren walked down the hallway and through the door to the waiting room. Akechi was still at the desk, nose deep in Camus. Ren rang the bell on the counter and Akechi jumped like he’d seen a ghost. “Oh, Ren, sorry, Camus is just fascinating. Have you read his explanation on combating nihilism as rebellion? I keep re-reading the same sentences.” 

“No, I haven’t, but let me borrow that book when you’re done,” Ren said, thoughtful of the topic. ‘I probably need to read that book.’ “Akechi, this is very important. Have you had any strange dreams lately? Like any you can’t comprehend?”

Akechi looked at him thoughtfully. “I have, actually. Just last night I had a very strange one that left me with a few questions. I was in a room with a woman in blue, but she only kept whispering my name. It was very strange, but after awhile I started to recognize her. It seemed like she was having trouble breathing.” Akechi looked down then back up. “What are the rules for dating among our little group?”

Ren prevented his jaw from dropping, curious where Akechi could be going with it. “Well, I don’t see an issue with it, just don’t do anything stupid.”

“I was hoping you’d say that. Can I ask out Makoto?”

Ren nearly passed out from laughing. Takemi came out to ask what the ruckus was. 

“Ak- ha, ah, Akechi, haha,” Ren wheezed. “Akechi had a wet dream.” 

Takemi rolled her eyes and Akechi’s face turned a bright crimson.

“It took me like, three hours to figure out how the washer worked.”

Brilliant, indeed.

===

‘Okay, no more distractions. I really need to do this.’ Ren was trying to hype himself up for his trip to the real Velvet Room, a room he only ever saw after defeating God of Control. It’s inhabitants weren’t people he knew well but they were always far more hospitable than the imposters. Lavenza, of course, was the best parts of Justine and Caroline. Ren still had no idea how she got her regular form back.

He walked further down the alley and entered the deep blue door with gold trim that only he could see. Gone were the cell doors he expected. Gone was the light behind him. 

===

Ren expected dark and dingy. He didn’t get dark and dingy.

Instead, he heard the ring of a bell similar to the one that let Sojiro know LeBlanc had a customer. He checked behind him to find a solid oak door with a stained glass window in the middle. It was small, just four inches across the center and about a foot tall, but light shone through it beautifully, casting it’s reds, greens and blues across the room. 

The room was warm and inviting; a fireplace blazed to the left, a deep maroon sofa and some reading chairs placed around it. The floors were brown hardwood, but a cleverly designed rug sat under the furniture near the fireplace. It was brown with an intricate design that was only apparent when the flames hit it just right: Little crosses. 

To the right was a large bar similar to Crossroads but at the end, on the other side of the bar, sat Igor, a deck of tarot cards in front of him. A young girl with long blonde hair, dressed in an immaculate blue dress sat on the customer side of the bar. Lavenza was lost in the process of reading the contents of a clipboard, perhaps the one used by Justine and Caroline to help Ren advance the Strength arcana. Igor hadn’t yet looked up. Instead, he laid out the tarot cards in front of him.

Lavenza was the first to notice him, visibly, but Ren was sure Igor knew he had entered the room. He didn’t expect anyone could enter the Velvet Room without Igor knowing about it. 

“Trickster, you came.” Lavenza never smiled in the same sense as humans did. Her teeth wouldn’t show. But her lips would widen in a grin and her eyes showed such joy. “It is a pleasure to meet you in the midst of your journey, rather than at the end.”

Igor looked up from his cards. “You have excellent timing, Trickster.” Ren didn’t realize time truly mattered in this place.

“I trust you don’t need an explanation as to what this place is: To us, this is our first meeting. To you, this is the first of hundreds. Am I correct?”

Ren nodded. He couldn’t help but feel giddy. His situation was being acknowledged by somebody who might be able to do something about it. He had hope.

“Yes. I’ve done this many times.” Ren kept his head.

“And you only need do this once more,” Igor said. “But be warned, Trickster. The path you walk isn’t one of your own rehabilitation. It was one of the world’s.” His bloodshot eyes peered into Ren’s soul. “You’ve already made more progress than expected. Even so, you may not be prepared for the strife on the road ahead.”

Igor wasn’t quite capable of emoting frustration, but Ren could sense it.

“We have asked much more of you, Trickster, than we would of normal guests. There were circumstances that evaded even my foresight. Obstacles will continue to be removed to aid you in your journey but the extent of our power is limited. There are others invading the playing field as we speak. But remember, help will be given to those who ask.”

Ren thought for a minute. He’d heard that before.

‘Did Igor just… make a reference to-’ Lavenza interrupted his thought. 

“Trickster, I apologize for being unknowing of your torment. I imagine you had warned us before only to wake up with the universe none the wiser.” Lavenza didn’t face the same emoting handicap. Her yellow eyes connected with Ren, determination being their other defining feature. “We will aid you in your escape.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story has a lot of moving parts that I'm still figuring out. If something doesn't add up, please comment and let me know. I'm self-editing, which I'm not great at. 
> 
> Chapters 6, 7 and potentially 8, which were initially intended to be part of chapter 5, will be staggered over the next few days. I'm working out kinks in my writing because I'm too used to writing AP style. 
> 
> I'm also still in the process of introducing characters into the story, so I want to limit the size of chapters until I have something of substance to write. I'm not a fan of overly long chapters that rely too much on explanation of new characters. It burns me out reading and writing. Apologies if these next few chapters are frustratingly short.


	6. Ryuji is a Red Herring

Ren exited the Velvet Room with a new method of fusion (that didn’t involve a guillotine) and new Personas he had never seen before. He kept Chi You, Yoshitsune, Ishtar, Cybele, Arsene and Satanael, unable to rid himself of the sentimental feelings he’d had with their corresponding social links. ‘I don’t have to rid myself of those feelings anymore.’ The thought alone nearly made him cry tears of joy. ‘Was it Akechi that mentioned sentimentality as rebellion?’

He wouldn't allow himself to get rid of Satanael, mostly because what it cost to resummon him was enough to purchase a house.

Time had stopped while he was in the Velvet Room; he had expected this trip to take all day and while it had taken an hour or so, it was still early in the day on a Sunday and Ren had energy to burn. He had long passed ever having to study again: Ren memorized the entire Shujin curriculum. Akechi was working and planning on how he would court Makoto. Ren didn’t trust himself to hang out with Makoto without spilling the beans. He’d embarrassed Akechi enough for one day.

He checked his phone to find a message to the group chat: Ann and Shiho had gone to the aquarium together, and sent a very couple-y photo of themselves posing with the penguins. 

‘Why didn’t they invite me to see the penguins?’ Ren thought, but he could be mad about that later. ‘They’re adorable.’ Ann and Shiho, he meant. But the penguins were cute, too.

Futaba and Wakaba had taken a family trip to Akihabara, because Wakaba was very transparent in wanting to make it up to Futaba. She'd texted Ren last night in celebration. "I've got to get angry more often," Futaba had said. Even Sojiro was busy: Ren told the old-timer to download Tinder as a joke, but as it turns out, the old man wasn’t bullshitting about the lady’s man stuff. He’d had more dates the last two weeks than Ren had had in 112 years combined. Granted, Ren stopped dating early, but still. The geezer had game and Ren was impressed. (A small section of Ren’s brain wondered what in the hell Sojiro even put in his Tinder profile. Obviously, Coffee Dad would probably not work.) (Another section of Ren’s brain was very happy that he no longer had Futaba living in his house. The idea of Futaba, in a past life, having to adjust to a new mother figure seemed like the plot to a semi-funny American movie.) (There was also the awkward idea of Sojiro going to town on a woman with a child in the house.)

‘Well, everyone else’s lives seem to be going better this time,’ Ren thought. Save for Makoto. Sae wasn’t any more or less of a pain in the ass as she was last time. 

That thought left Ren with three ideas: Get Sae to stop being a pain in the ass. She wasn’t a bad person, she was just stuck in an awkward position. She was easy to find and easy to get out of the office. Ren only had to act up a small bit in the name of the Phantom Thieves. She’d be at the scene in a heartbeat. It was tempting for multiple reasons.

It wasn’t that Sae was easy to seduce, Ren thought. He suspected it was more along the lines of Ren being exactly her type, 16-year-old boy or not. Ren started to reminisce of a timeline where they ran off together after the interrogation and...

‘Ugh. No. Stop being gross.’ The better part of Ren’s brain admonished him.

The second idea: There were still three other Phantom Thieves that had yet to actually join the squad and he desperately missed Ryuji. Whenever the nihilism crept in, Ryuji would drag Ren back out of it kicking and screaming. 

The third idea: Go people watching in Shibuya and maybe run into Yusuke early. Ren had already spotted him on previous days off but stayed away so as to not throw off the timeline. But now? Ren had no problem fucking with the timeline. Screw it, Igor was as close to a real god as he knew. If he’s on board, Ren’s on board.

As surprisingly in the mood as Ren was feeling, he refused to think with the wrong head. Third idea it is.

===

Ren didn’t find Yusuke but he didn’t truly expect to. It was about a month before Madarame’s exhibition and he was sure Yusuke was hard at work creating Madarame’s next masterpiece. Ren recalled the timeline where Yusuke failed to create a piece in time, so Madarame hilariously (well, not ‘hilariously’ to Yusuke, or to Ren at the time) turned Yusuke in to Kosei High School for plagiarism, costing him his scholarship and position in the art community for a time. The Phantom Thieves were, luckily, able to turn his fortunes around with a change of heart. Not that it mattered. Ren was still here, performing the same tasks over and over.

‘No. Bad brain. Stop it.’

‘...’

‘I think Takemi told me to listen to Bad Brains at some point.’

‘DISTRACTIONS.’

Ren took a second to reignite his brain functions. The spider web of thoughts that came from even the simplest of introspection wasn’t something he was going to let ruin the one day he felt productive.

While Yusuke couldn’t be found in Shibuya, a walk towards Central Street was a bit more fruitful for non-Yusuke reasons. Protein Lovers gym was one of Ryuji’s hangouts and sure enough, an immensely sweaty Ryuji was leaving the building, wiping his forehead with his bright yellow tank top that matched his hair color and carrying a gym bag. 

‘He’s surprisingly jacked,’ Ren thought. He was right. Ryuji was much larger than was noticeable in his version of the Shujin uniform. Kamoshida was still running roughshod over Shujin before Ren got there but he hadn’t heard much about the track team. He’d been through the same story so many times that he didn’t even think about it, actually. It concerned Ren. ‘Does this make me a bad friend?’ How can he be a bad friend when Ryuji looks like he ate another Ryuji?

‘I wonder if that has benefits in the Metaverse?’ Ren thought, before realizing he’d been staring a little too long. He and Ryuji had interacted some at school, so it wasn’t completely weird that Ren was staring. He could play it off as staring in recognition in a giant place full of self-absorbed people like Central Street. Ren started to cross the street heading towards the man who would normally be his closest friend at this point, about to shout “Hey, Sakamoto!” Ren only got the “Hey!” part out when a stranger plowed into him, hard. 

===

Sumire Yoshizawa was beyond furious at her twin sister: Yet again, she was beaten to the punch. Boys weren’t her forte. Nor were they her sister, Kasumi’s but as with all things, she was the more forward one. Boldness, Coach Hiraguchi would call it. It’s what netted her first place in their gymnastics meets, more often than not. She was always more likely to take risks. Sumire was usually happy with the bronze medal: In the years before her 15th birthday she’d never even come close to sniffing the podium but a growth spurt did the opposite of the hampering it usually did for gymnasts. She didn’t get much taller but she grew much stronger, able to stick landings that would damage the limbs of anyone weaker. Minor over-rotations that spelled disaster for everyone else were minor inconveniences for Sumire.

The extra strength also came in handy when Kasumi pissed her off; Sumire finally stood a chance when their petty squabbles devolved into fist fights. They normally ended up in stalemates and considering professional wrestling was their only exposure to any sort of combat sport, they also normally ended with their father laughing uncontrollably while attempting to tell them to stop. 

“I don’t want to encourage you two to fight but this is hilarious,” he’d told them a few weeks ago, when Kasumi ate the last piece of Sumire’s homemade sushi and found herself trapped in Bull Nakano’s Scorpion Crosslock. Sumire won that match by submission and now held the Yoshizawa Lightweight Championship. Her father wouldn’t let them call it the heavyweight championship. “I’m sick enough of your mother calling herself fat all the time. I don’t need you guys doing it, too.”

Right now was different though. Sumire’s anger was more tangible than it had been the other times. Kasumi knew about her crush on Souji and she went after him anyway. What hurt even more is that Kasumi was an awful date. 

Kasumi Yoshizawa was extremely outgoing and energetic: She loved to talk and she loved to play. Whenever she'd start begging her parents to get a dog, Sumire would often joke that they already had a human golden retreiver. Making friends came so easily to her that it frustrated Sumire, who just didn’t find socializing simple. She would trip up her words and get flustered too easily to have a real social life. It took her awhile to feel comfortable around others. That’s why Souji was special; he sat in front of the twins in class. A quiet club soccer player who, outside of being the school's only star athlete that didn't play volleyball, really just liked to listen. He’d share stories every now and then, but he was constantly asking questions and offering little snippets of advice. She loved that about him. 

‘Okay, love is too strong of a word.’ 

He was just the opposite of what Sumire expected from a typical jock and it was her first real crush.

So, of course Kasumi just had to take a shine to him knowing of her sister's infatuation.

She wasn’t proud of the fact that she was stalking her sister while she had her first date ever. In fact, she was doing a particularly poor job because she felt so guilty. ‘There’s no way I haven’t already blown my cover.’ Sumire watched her sister and her crush walk into a diner, knowing she couldn’t follow them in because she left her wallet at home. She planted herself on a bench and let herself think, which was a mistake.

‘Fu-stupid Kasumi, everything always goes her way. Literally always. Why does she get the guy? Why didn’t I say anything?’ She stopped. ‘No tears, Sumire. It’s not worth it.’ 

A sob escaped and when it rains, it pours. Sumire pulled herself up off the bench and ran towards their home: They lived in a fairly upscale residential neighborhood near Central Street. It was close enough to walk there. It wasn’t the first time she ran home from here.

Her vision was obstructed by her tears and her ears were pounding due to anxiety, hampering her ability to not demolish the most beautiful man she’d ever laid eyes on in her life.

‘I suddenly regret taking leg day so seriously.’ Sumire laid there, hoping it was actually possible to die from embarrassment. 

===

“Did anyone catch the license plate number on that truck?” Ren laid on the ground next to the red-haired girl. He leapt back up to his feet effortlessly and reached out a hand to help her up and looked down in her eyes. Her very bloodshot eyes. Her cheeks were puffy and red. She must’ve been crying. She grabbed his hand and he pulled her to her feet. 

She was shorter than he realized but not skinny, just really in shape; given the weight he felt when she plowed into him he assumed she was some sort of superhero.

“Oh my goodness, sir, I’m so sorry,” she apologized profusely while picking her glasses up off the ground. She attempted to get her straight red hair to actually lay straight again; it only kind of worked.

Ren looked at the girl. He’d never been called ‘sir’ before. 

“Sir, are you okay?” She was obviously confused.

Ren shook his head as if coming out of a daze. “Yeah, sorry, never been called that before. Um. I’m Ren Amamiya.” He stuck his hand out. She’d been crying, he thought, and maybe she needed an ear. She took his hand and shook it.

“Sumire Yoshizawa. It’s nice to meet you. Sorry for uh, tackling you.” Sumire blushed as she realized just how much of a scene they made. “I should be go-”

“Wait,” Ren stopped her. “Are you okay? I can tell you’ve been crying. Today’s been boring,” Ren lied. “If you need an ear, I have time.” That part wasn’t a lie. It was still a little after noon. Ren never had free time.

Sumire couldn’t believe her luck. ‘The best way to get over someone is to get under someone else,’ she thought, something one of her older cousins had said. ‘I just realized I don’t actually know what that means.’ ‘...’ ‘Oh god that’s what that means.’ She blushed, her internal dialogue doing more to torment her than her sister usually did. 

“If you’re sure, I was actually just heading home.” She sighed. “It’s been a long day.” Ren nodded. “Thank you, Amamiya-san.”

“Just Ren, please,” he gave her a friendly smile. 

“Then just Sumire for me as well,” she replied. “Actually, that probably works best. Whenever I hear ‘Yoshizawa-san,’ I think they’re talking to my sister. I’m not as social as her.”

“Well, you must be some kind of social because you are talking to a stranger,” Ren replied. Her eyes had cleared up, no longer bloodshot, and her cheeks had stopped being puffy. She returned her glasses to her face. ‘I don’t know why I didn’t expect her to be pretty, but I didn’t expect her to be this pretty,’ Ren thought. Then he admonished himself in his brain. ‘We don’t do that anymore, it always ends poorly.’ “Is the diner fine? I was going to grab a cup of coffee anyway.” Sumire’s eyes flickered a deer-in-headlights glance but she nodded instead.

“That’s fine, it’ll be quieter in there than out here.”

===

The diner’s coffee was never as good as LeBlanc’s but Ann had shown Ren years ago that the pie was to die for. The owner was an immigrant to Japan who’s recipe wasn’t going to be recreated by anyone local. Sumire sat across the booth from Ren, constantly looking over both her shoulder and his shoulder.

“Are you expecting a visitor?” Ren asked. “You seem pretty spooked.” His first thought was that she was spooked by him but she was adamant that he wasn’t the source of her discomfort.

“No, it’s not you,” Sumire said. She looked him in the eye and decided he wasn’t the type of person she could lie to. The steel-grey was both comforting and convincing that he was somebody she could trust. He reminded her of Souji, a bit. ‘Ren is much more attractive,’ she thought. ‘And older. I don’t stand a chance.’

‘Um, she’s definitely checking me out,’ Ren said, his discomfort growing. ‘I’ll ignore it, for now.’

“I was actually following somebody who came to this diner,” Sumire confessed, the words leaving her lips in a matter similar to vomit. Luckily, she wasn’t too loud. If Kasumi heard her admit that out loud, it would lead to another fight, and Sumire wasn’t sure she could get the Scorpion Crosslock locked in again. “My sister. She asked out the guy I was crushing on knowing I had a crush.” The waitress had set a piece of pie in front of each of them as she started telling the story: She went through everything, Souji the listener, the soccer player, how tall he was, his ash-grey hair, everything they’d both liked about him. “I’m beginning to realize when I gushed about him, it was pretty mutual. I should have realized she was crushing as hard as I was.”

They continued their discussion, mostly of their common interests like cooking. Ren was better with curry and breakfast food, while Sumire specialized in meal prep, especially when it related to her gymnastics.

“Gymnastics is so cool, I’ve always wanted to incorporate that into my… uh. Into my aikido.” Ren saved. It had been a long time since he nearly slipped up relating to Phantom Thieves business.

Her eyes lit up. “Oh! You practice aikido? I tried to get dad to let me take classes but Coach Hiraguchi told him I couldn’t. It would distract me from gymnastics.”

“I dabble. One of my friends is nearly a master. I just spar when she can’t find anyone else. Boxing is more my thing, but I haven’t done much with it in awhile.” Technically, not a lie, Ren thought. His side of the conversation died down as he let Sumire talk more about gymnastics; Ren was really looking forward to the pie.

“I was so upset at my sister when I found out she poached Souji,” Sumire said. She eyed Ren as he nodded and took a bite of his pecan pie. “Although, I’m beginning to think the crush didn’t mean as much as I thought it did.” 

Ren looked up from his pie, her eyes met his. “I, uh, wow. It’s usually me saying bullshit like that.”

Sumire blushed then started laughing. “I thought you reminded me of Souji when we started talking, but now I realize you remind me more of Kasumi.” She’d never felt this bold before. Is this how Kasumi felt all the time? “Look, I don’t know how interested in me you are, but regardless, I’d like to see you again.”

Ren nodded. He was enjoying getting to know Sumire more than he expected. He thought he was doing this girl a favor, giving up an afternoon with Ryuji. Instead, he had as much fun talking to her as he had with anyone.

“I agree. Give me your number, one of us can reach out and we can get together again.” Ren chuckled. “Maybe you can teach me some gymnastics.”

Sumire laughed, not knowing if it was a dirty joke or not, but knowing that the feelings from their minor interaction were definitely getting out of hand. 

Ren was in a similar state, realizing he was garnering a crush for the first time in four score and 16 years ago. 

Even more surprising? His conversation with Sumire spawned a new social link: Faith.

===

Ren took the train back to Yongen-Jaya to find Morgana getting shoe'd out of the secondhand shop down the block and scurrying back to LeBlanc. Ren didn’t scurry, but he did follow Morgana. ‘Who knows what that guy is up to?’

The bell chimed and Sojiro looked up from his crossword puzzle. Futaba sat at the bar typing away on a black-and-green laptop while Wakaba scribbled in a notebook, a cup of coffee in front of her. She occasionally glanced at Sojiro, who didn’t seem to be giving her the time of day. 

Morgana had settled into the barstool next to Futaba.

“Ren!” Futaba looked up from her laptop and called out, and started digging into a bag she picked up off the ground. “Look what mom got me!” She held out a Pink Argus action figure from Neo Featherman. Upon closer inspection, Ren realized that it was autographed. 

“Wow, you met Yukari Takeba!?” Had Ren not just spent the afternoon with one of the more enchanting women he’d ever come across, he’d have been jealous. He never did get to meet Takeba in any of the previous timelines. He’d run into other celebrities before, most notably Rise Kujikawa, but never Takeba. Risette was actually pretty weird, Ren thought. “I’m so jealous, Futaba.”

Futaba motioned in a way that let Ren know to be subtle. “We’ll need to talk more about this later.” 

Wakaba spoke up. “Oh yeah, Takeba was in Tokyo visiting a friend today. She’s an old friend.”

“Mom, you really, really need to stop just dropping bombs like that if you ever want me to speak to you again,” Futaba pouted. 

Wakaba looked thoughtful as she walked over and rubbed Futaba’s back. Futaba may have been pouting for play, but the wound opened by Wakaba’s acquaintanceship with the assassin was still fresh. “She tries to avoid the city, Futaba. She doesn’t feel safe here and she has people to look after. Getting her here to meet you was difficult, but I promise, she had wanted to for a long time. And she’ll be in the city more, now. Something about it makes her feel safer.” She looked at Ren, her eyes gleaming. “She loves you guys, you know.”

Ren didn’t know how to react. Pink Argus was a fan of the Phantom Thieves!?

“She doesn’t know… right?” Ren was at least concerned about that even though it would have been much easier to just be starstruck. 

“No, she doesn’t know,” Wakaba said. “I promised I wouldn’t tell and I intend to keep that promise.” She gave a thoughtful glance at Futaba and looked back at Ren. “But if you guys ever want a meeting with our employer, just say the word. I promise it’s safe. If you can trust me, you can trust them.”

‘...’

‘“Our employer”’ Ren thought about Wakaba’s phrasing. He’ll catch up with Futaba later.

Ren didn’t know what to say, so he didn’t say anything. “Sojiro, do you need help tonight? I’ve got some free time.”

And he spent his night making coffee and doing dishes with Sojiro. ‘I’m remembering April 24 as a holiday.’

“So, Sojiro, how’d that date go earlier?” Ren chuckled as his guardian threw a damp cloth at him while Wakaba and Futaba giggled in a way that must have been hereditary.

“None of your business. Just for that, you’ll be washing the curry pot.”

“Whatever you say, boss.”

There was silence for a little bit.

“Do they call you ‘daddy’ or ‘boss’?” Everyone in the room glared at Futaba and for a single solitary second, she thought she had breathed her last breath. Then Ren and Wakaba lost it, laughing at Sojiro’s misery as he turned bright red.

“Aren’t you a little old for Tinder, Soji?” 

“At this rate, you guys are going to land me in a nursing home.” Sojiro went back to his crossword puzzle.

===

Ren wrapped up his evening with Sojiro and returned to his attic after some time at the bath house. He checked his phone to find a couple different messages.

 **MN:** have you talked to Akechi today?

 **RA:** Why were you dreaming of him too? 

Ren thought for a second and deleted that message before he hit send.

 **RA:** Yeah, he was working at Takemi’s office.

 **MN:** He’s not returning my messages. I’m supposed to show him around school tomorrow.

 **RA:** oh man, he actually got into Shujin. Im happy for him.

 **MN:** Me too. Looks like he’ll be in my class.

 **MN:** Sis just got home and she wants to talk. Going to bed after that. Goodnight.

 **RA:** Tell judge judy I said hi

…

The Phantom Thieves groupchat had been active as well.

 **AT:** We ever actually discuss that next target?

 **RA:** We’re taking a week off. Might have something Thursday.

 **AT:** K.

 **FS:** I join and you guys take a week off? Soft

 **AG:** I believe he is trying to allow me time to get acclimated to my new school.

 **SS:** AH CONGRATS AKECHI

 **AT:** Akechi! That’s great! Does that make you our senpai?

 **AG:** Please don’t call me that, I was homeless a week ago. It’d feel weird to start with honorifics now.

 **RA:** Akechi is just a ray of sunshine.

 **SS:** Shut up Ren that’s my job

 **RA:** Go to bed, Shiho.

 **SS:** Dont tell me what to do

 **SS:** Goodnight everyone

…

 **SY:** Hi, Ren. I never asked. What school do you go to?

 **RA:** Ah, yeah, should have brought that up. Shujin, why?

 **SY:** I knew it! I’m a first year.

 **RA:** Did you know I was the infamous transfer student before we talked today

 **SY:** Maybe. I didn’t believe the talk, though.

 **SY:** My sister said she’d let you tie her up

 **SY:** I don’t know what that means.

 **RA:** That’s good. Keep it that way.

 **SY:** I just asked her what it meant and now she’s blushing but she won’t tell me.

 **SY:** I’ll look it up later.

Ren laughed to himself, the sound reverberating off the rafters.

 **RA:** Don’t do that.

 **SY:** Why not

 **RA:** Because I’m your senpai and I said so

 **SY:** u didn’t even know that til ten minutes ago

 **RA:** Listen to me Sumire

 **SY:** Ok. Goodnight Ren

 **RA:** Night Sumire.

‘School tomorrow might not be as boring as I thought.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you get my pun in the title?
> 
> Or the Bad Brains joke? 
> 
> Or the dozens of other stupid little things I fit in here?
> 
> I focused more on happier themes in this chapter because I felt I was getting too heavy handed. I also wanted the practice writing fluff and romance. Apologies if it comes off as a bit stilted: Romance is the genre in which struggle the most in my writing, no matter how hard I work at it. 
> 
> This was originally part of chapter 5, but I felt what ended up being chapter 5 needed to stand on it's own. Plus, it gave me time to fine-tune this chapter.
> 
> The next chapter will feature Akechi's first day of actual school, Ren realizing he's more in over his head with the Yoshizawas than he ever was with Yaldabaoth, and the official introduction of a familiar face.
> 
> True story, I can't play Persona 3 ever since I beat it the first time because I'll just start sobbing within the first hour because I'll remember the ending. So, do you think my version of Ren is a little bitch? That's because I'm a little bitch.
> 
> Finally, I cannot believe I just hit 20,000 words on this story. This was supposed to be an 8k word one shot. With the outline I've got now, I'm looking at around 75k words, conservatively, and if things keep going as they are, I might be in this for the long haul.


	7. Optimism Performs a Hostile Takeover

April 25th

_“I heard he’s some kind of assassin…”_

_“Look at his hair, he must be some kind of vagrant…”_

_“I bet he’s that transfer student’s janitor…”  
_

Goro shook his head as the Shujin rumor mill sped off from the station. “Excuse me, I couldn’t help but overhear, but the term is ‘cleaner,’ not ‘janitor.’ And I am no such thing.” He tried to put on a friendly face but it was hard not to be at least a little downtrodden to know he was being labeled so quickly. The vagrant comment bothered him, especially, given that it was true until just a few days ago.

The student ignored Goro’s correction and instead chose to stare like a deer in headlights before scurrying away.

Classes would start soon but Goro was to report directly to Principal Kobayakawa first thing in the morning.

He entered that fat piece of garbage’s office with an already tainted opinion of him: Kobayakawa was, in fact, the man that ordered a hit on the woman Akechi was attempting to court. 

If there was ever a reason for hatred, that was it, although it provided Goro with a feeling of deep discomfort. He wasn’t used to holding such a grudge.

“Akechi-san, thank you for stopping in,” Kobayakawa gave a smile but it didn’t reach his eyes. ‘He’s obviously someone hiding something,’ Akechi thought. “I see you got your uniform and books.” A woman stood next to the round man. “This here is Miss Chouno. She will be your homeroom teacher.”

Akechi bowed. “Chouno-sensei, thank you.”

“Now, I know you applied with glowing recommendations from the doctor you’re employed with and our student council president, but I’m telling you now: I know where you came from and if you step one foot out of line, you will be out that door.”

Chouno looked uncomfortable standing there but she said nothing. 

“Perhaps you picked a bad time to count on Niijima-san’s recommendation,” Kobayakawa looked like he was trying to be intimidating. Instead, he looked like he might hard boil in his seat. Akechi had never seen a man sweat so profusely while doing absolutely nothing. “She’s proven to be less reliable than I once thought. You may want to distance yourself from her.”

Akechi wasn’t sure how to respond, knowing that Futaba was almost definitely listening in on every conversation the Thieves had. 

“Sir, I assure you that you have nothing to worry about. I’m just happy to be in an academic setting again.” Meekness came easily to Akechi. It wasn’t a lie, either. He was sure to avoid insulting Makoto, but he would excuse himself to the restroom before class to send a message to the group chat, anyway. Kobayakawa dismissed him, and Akechi asked Chouno where the bathroom was.

He entered and locked the stall door.

 **AG:** Just spoke to the principal. Apparently you’re unreliable. Just thought you should know.

 **FS:** Dammit I was gonna blackmail you

 **RA:** Futaba, no blackmail

 **MN:** Ren, no texting in class

 **FS:** Makoto, no texting in class

 **FS:** Unless you want Akechi to hear that conversation you had with Ann and Shiho

 **SS:** No such recording exists.

 **FS:** No lying

 **SS:** Sorry Makoto I’ve done all I could

 **AT:** Ren just got chalk thrown at him. Good job, guys.

===

_An hour earlier_

Two mornings in a row, Ren awoke before his alarm without feeling the hangover-like effects of a hundred years of trauma; no anxiety, no sadness, just eagerness to get on with his day. The prospect of school even seemed like fun.

It was almost like he had a change of heart.

He marched downstairs and sat at the bar. Sojiro hadn’t yet finished cooking the curry but his coffee was sitting there.

“You’re up early,” Sojiro noticed a spring on Ren’s step as he came down the stairs.

“I guess spending my evening tormenting you creates enough joy to make life worth it,” Ren took a sip of his coffee. It was really good, as he expected. 

Sojiro chuckled. “It was less miserable than you think.” He looked off into space before going back to focusing on his cooking. “I think it made Wakaba jealous.”

“It definitely did.” Ren replied.

“I didn’t think that was possible.” Sojiro was still focused on his cooking but he was listening intently.

“Of course you didn’t. According to you, ‘Some guys just can’t be tied down.’” Ren threw Sojiro’s words from a few weeks ago back at him. “Try asking her on a real date. I’ll get Futaba out of your guys’ hair if you do.” ‘That would be easy, Ren thought. If he waits a week or two, we’ll be in Madarame’s palace every day anyway.’

“I’ll think about it, kid.” Sojiro set a plate in front of Ren. “You’re less of a pain the ass than I thought you’d be, you know that?”

Ren didn’t say anything and focused on eating. “Thanks, boss.”

===

Akechi entered his new classroom seconds before the bell rang signaling the beginning of the day. He would have to introduce himself to his classmates.

“Class, we have a new student today, a late transfer.” Chouno addressed the class.

“Hello, I’m Goro Akechi. I look forward to getting to know all of you.” He looked and saw an empty seat right behind Makoto. She had asked Chouno to make sure he sat near her, so she could help him out. 

The rumor mill had already started and showed no signs of stopping. Goro’s hair was still a bit too long: he wasn’t letting Takemi anywhere near his head with a pair of scissors and he didn’t see the point of paying money for a haircut. That didn’t work in his favor: Long hair on men was against dress code, but most didn’t seem worried about that. They were more worried about the ‘long-haired delinquent transfer student.’

‘They haven’t even gotten confirmation that I’m friends with Ren yet.’ He couldn’t imagine going through this rumor mill alone like Ren had to. ‘I’m not sure I’d have survived it.’

He settled into his seat and attempted to integrate himself into the first structured learning environment he’d seen since he fled his last group home.

===

The lunch bell rang and Ren was trying to get to the rooftop to eat with the rest of the Phantom Thieves. Keyword: Trying. He would only have partial success, because he was apparently dragging three non-Phantom Thieves with him.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to eat lunch with Sumire and her sister; he was thrilled to see Sumire but he didn’t know her sister at all. Of course, Kasumi had to bring the reason she was on her sister’s shit list with her, making things all the more strained. 

‘At least Shiho will probably have fun stoking the flames of a first-year love triangle.’

‘I’m glad we have Shiho.’

===

Sumire really just wanted to get away from her sister and her budding relationship; she wasn’t over Souji, necessarily, but her discussion with Ren made her realize she had, and blown, her own opportunity. Right now, distance was what was best. 

Which means Kasumi thought the opposite; Ren had invited Sumire to eat lunch with him and his friends, so Kasumi and Souji followed.

“Can’t you guys just go make out somewhere or something?” Sumire whined. 

Kasumi gave a scandalous look, a real one. “Sumire, that’s gross.” Kasumi was as new to dating as Sumire was. Souji chuckled at the twins’ argument and it took some willpower for Sumire to not point a finger at him and shout, “you! You aren’t allowed to be cute right now! Stop it!”

She didn’t do that, but she did give him a nasty look that shut him down pretty quickly. 

Sumire didn’t realistically see Ren getting mad at her for Kasumi and Souji tagging along: Her reasoning for wanting them to go away was purely selfish. ‘I want them to be my friends, not our friends.’ 

“Sorry, I’m being stupid. You guys can come.” 

The group marched up the steps, towards the roof that’s supposed to be locked, to find an eclectic collection of friends; the star volleyball player and the foreign model were leaned up against each other sitting on top of one of the smaller air conditioning units, pretending the rest of the world didn’t exist, while the Student Council President was raving about a movie she’d just watched to the delinquent transfer student and another student with long hair whom Sumire didn’t recognize. 

===

Ren made it upstairs to find Makoto talking Akechi’s ear off about the new The Last Dragon movie she’d seen the night before; he’d shown a vague interest, having never been to a movie theater before, so she took that as a sign to discuss every detail of every fight.

These conversations, Ren knew, were often very one-sided but it was great to see Makoto excited about anything that wasn’t a new book at the library or exam results. And Akechi, probably eager to be in Makoto’s good graces, was going to listen intently. 

“I know they’re choreographed but I really want to try some of those moves in my aikido,” Makoto’s eyes were bright as she shared minor fight details with the two. “I think I could make it work. Oh, how cool would that be in the met-”

“Ah, Sumire!” Ren thanked whatever being responsible for his torment that he saw Sumire out of the corner of his eye. Makoto’s face heated up, embarrassed that she nearly did something stupid. Ren ignored it and gestured towards Sumire and her friends. “I take it this is Kasumi? And your other friend… Souji, right?” He was almost certain Sumire didn’t want to be hanging out with her sister and her new whatever-he-was, but he admired that she at least put on a happy face.

Souji bowed. “Nice to meet you, Senpai.”

“Alright, you and Sumire are two for two in making me feel old. Please, just Ren.” Ren sighed. “Now I know how Boss feels.”

Ren introduced the three to the rest of the group, and to Haru Okumura, who, while not part of the group (‘yet’), was on the rooftop tending to her garden. She admired Ren’s green thumb and he had helped her keep the plants alive in the short time he was at Shujin.

Conversation flowed easily with the integrated groups; Makoto and the Yoshizawa twins bonded quickly, sharing workout stories and competition stories. Makoto hadn’t competed in aikido since the previous year but she’d medal'd once or twice and she was fascinated at the competitive atmosphere that surrounded the twins. 

“I mean, I know I compete with my sister in my head but I can’t imagine an actual open competition,” Makoto said, while Ren thought about a literal brawl between Queen and Shadow Sae. ‘I’m honestly shocked that’s never happened.’

“It does push me further, though,” Kasumi said. “I find myself working way harder knowing Sumire is right behind me.” She stuck her tongue out. “She’s stepped her game up, lately, though. I’m just happy I’m still taller. Ain’t that right, shrimp?” As she said that, she patted Sumire on the head, who swatted her hand away while pouting.

“I’m going to beat you next time, though,” Sumire said. “I refuse to keep losing to you in everything.” She didn’t mean to glance at Souji, who was talking to Okumura-senpai about her gardening. Haru was enthusiastically explaining her methods for growing vegetables in the raised gardens and how great they tasted.

“They weren’t that great before, but Ren-kun really has a green thumb,” Haru said. “I even started giving some of the food to the cafeteria; the food here has gotten much better.”

Souji looked at Ren in admiration. ‘He’s not much of a talker,’ Ren noticed. He expected that a little from Sumire’s explanation. 

“Oh, I have a meeting with Chouno-sensei, I must get going,” Haru said, rushing off down the stairs.

“Good job, you just made friends with the most terrifying person I’ve ever met,” Ren joked with Souji.

“What do you mean? She seems like a sweetheart,” the ashy-haired first-year replied. 

“Yeah, that’s the scary part. You’ll be okay, though. She likes you.” Ren figured a cryptic warning about Haru’s sadistic side was fair. “Although, I get the impression you’re getting more than you bargained for with those two.”

Souji chuckled. “I’m always up for a challenge.” 

“...”

“...”

‘Okay, so maybe having a conversation with somebody who is this much like me is difficult.’

“How was your date with Kasumi?” Ren took a shot in the dark. It was rare to have a conversation he’d never had before. 

Souji smiled. “It was good! That diner has the best pecan pie.” His eyes lit up when he spoke about food. “I assume Sumire told you about the date?” Ren nodded. “I’m guessing she was pretty upset when you saw her.”

Ren nodded again. “She wouldn’t appreciate me going into detail but I think she realized that she should have asked before Kasumi. Hopefully she’s done being mad.”

As if on cue, Shiho, who had of course been listening in on the conversation, interjected. “Yeah, kid, I bet that pie was great!” Ren looked at Shiho, mischief in her eyes.

Souji turned a bright, crimson red while everyone except the twins fought the urge to laugh. Sumire looked around, confused as to why the joke was funny. Kasumi understood it was supposed to be something perverted, but she didn’t know why.

Luckily for Souji, the bell rang, Kasumi grabbing his hand and leading him down the stairs. 

The rest of the Phantom Thieves started heading downstairs but Sumire stayed behind while Ren went back to pick up his bag.

“I hope it’s okay I brought them,” Sumire said. Ren nodded.

“Of course, the more people that see I’m not a criminal, the better.” Ren replied.

“I need to go, but there’s something I need cleared up about that,” Sumire said. “I’ll text you later.” She headed down the stairs, Ren following. 

===

Rumors about Kamoshida’s impromptu sick day were ravaging the school, especially since the administration found a replacement so quickly. To Ren, they found a replacement far too quickly; Kamoshida hadn’t even confessed yet and there was something shady about this new Coach Iori but he hadn’t been able to figure out what.

Shiho, for one, could not shut up about the guy.

“He’s so funny,” she gushed as Ann stewed next to her, uncomfortable that her _really good friend_ was talking so highly of someone else. “And I always leave his workouts feeling better than I left them. I swear, his energy is contagious.”

“Keep talking like this and he’ll give you something else that’s contagious,” Ann huffed.

“...” 

Ren couldn’t hold back his laughter while Shiho stared at Ann slack jawed.

“I… I think I’m going to let you two talk this one out.” Ren waved bye to the two _really good friends_ but headed back into the school. Coach Iori would be in his office and Ren, as a concerned student, could easily pay him a visit.

So, that’s just what he did.

===

Junpei Iori had always wanted to be a gym teacher but he didn’t know the first thing about volleyball. The only thing he really knew about his current situation is that he needed a non-Shadow Operatives job and Mitsu-chan had found an emergency opening that she could pull strings to get him into. It only required him to move to Tokyo, and given he’d been traveling back and forth with his wife as she prepared for an art exhibit, living there wouldn’t be that bad. Mitsu-chan even provided them with an apartment, given he was there partially on her orders.

He was concerned about taking over two volleyball teams that were rumored to have been massively abused by the piece of shit that preceded him but upon meeting some of the students, he realized he might actually be the perfect man for the job.

‘Hell, I was able to get through to Minato at one point. If I can get that mope to open up, I can help these kids,’ Junpei thought. 

Thoughts of Minato invaded his brain often enough to be a problem. ‘Some day,’ Junpei mused, ‘we’ll get him back.’ They had to. They’d promised Minako they would. 

Junpei cleared out some of Kamoshida’s stuff, throwing a nametag in the trash. He grabbed an Olympic gold medal that was draped around a volleyball trophy from last year’s nationals. 

“I wonder how much I could pawn this for?” Junpei wondered aloud.

===

Ren was right outside Iori’s office when he heard the new coach ask aloud how much he could pawn off Kamoshida’s medal for. He was suddenly feeling a lot better about confronting the new coach.

Ren knocked on the door and the shuffling Iori trying to look natural could be heard through the grey-painted steel.

Iori looked up and squinted hard. “Oh, you’re a student.” Ren was wearing his normal plaid pants and black turtleneck. “Sorry, you just look a lot like my friend.”

“Ah, give my apologies to your friend, then,” Ren joked.

“Oh, yeah, I uh, can’t. He’s dead.” Iori deadpanned. “Ah, anyway, that’s not what you’re here for.”

Ren took a second to regain his composure. He didn’t get the awful vibe from Coach Iori he expected. ‘He seems a bit awkward.’ 

“I was just stopping by to meet you. I’m good friends with Suzui-san and she speaks very highly of you,” Ren told the new coach. “I had some bad experiences with the last coach.” Ren stopped. “I’m not on a team or anything but he harassed me anyway. I guess I’m checking that you won’t be doing the same.”

“I don’t plan to,” Iori replied. “Actually, I don’t think you introduced yourself.”

“Ah, my bad Sensei, I’m Ren Amamiya.” Ren bowed.

“Oh, I suppose it’s good you came and talked to me then.” Iori held up a notebook. “I found this; Kamoshida’s notes. Your name is written and crossed out like 80 times.” He laughed. “You were really living rent-free in that dude’s head.”

‘Quite literally,’ Ren thought. ‘Man, that’s a quality joke, I wish I could say that out loud.’

Ren had a good feeling about Iori; he had something magnetic about him Ren couldn’t put his finger on. The last time he felt something similar was that first meeting with Wakaba. Ren decided to activate Third Eye to find the Magician tarot card above Iori’s head.

“Care to keep a secret?” Ren was almost positive that Iori had a Persona. 

Iori furrowed his brow. “Been keepin’ ‘em for years. Shoot.”

“I knocked Kamoshida on his ass the last day he was here,” Ren grinned. “It was glorious. I’m assuming he’s not coming back, since you’re here?”

“...yeah. I can’t say what exactly happened. But I’m under the impression that you know.” Iori said. ‘I should be more careful around this kid.’ “You know that dead friend I told you about? That’s the same reckless shit he used to do.”

‘Yep,’ Ren thought. ‘Definitely a Persona user.’ “He must have been a great guy.”

“You’ve got no idea, kid. Get out of here, I’m heading home for the day.”

Ren left the room and Iori packed up. Once he was sure the kid was gone, he picked up his phone. “Hey, Mitsu-chan, you ain’t gonna believe this…” 

===

Ren texted the group chat immediately upon entering the train and finding a seat.

 **RA:** Iori’s a Persona user.

 **SS:** I KNEW HE WAS COOL

 **AT:** That’s literally the one thing I had over him

 **AT:** Shiho you have to quit volleyball

 **SS:** Why

 **AT:** Because all men are evil

 **MN:** Ren, how do you know?

 **RA:** You wouldn’t believe me if I told you

 **RA:** But he was talking about pawning Kamoshida’s actual medal lol

 **RA:** I should have recommended my guy

 **MN:** That’s actual theft, Ren

 **RA:** it’s not theft it’s just like being in a yakuza movie

 **MN:** I’m quitting

 **SS:** no you aren’t

 **AG:** I’m investigating Makoto

 **MN:** aren’t I supposed to be investigating us?

 **RA:** That’s a strange sentence.

 **RA:** But yes

 **MN:** Kobayakawa doesn’t really trust me, it seems.

 **MN:** smartest thing he’s ever done tbh

 **MN:** sis needs me home. 

**AG:** suspect is approaching Aoyama-Itchome station

 **MN:** Wait why do you know that

===

Makoto turned around to find Akechi standing right behind her with a grin on his face. 

“I was going to scare you but I thought this would be more humorous.” He paused. “I was absolutely right.”

Makoto gawked but replied, “what are the charges, detective?”

Something stirred in Akechi, like a memory he couldn’t quite grasp. It quickly went away and he shook his head. “I don’t know. I didn’t think I’d get this far.”

…

“Do you think you’d want to get dinner sometime?” Makoto’s face turned beet red but she was smiling.

“Do you mean like, a date?” Makoto had never been asked out before.

“Um, yes, like a date.”

“Absolutely, text me and we’ll set up a time. I wasn’t lying when I said sis needed me home.”

===

“This better be good, Iori,” Mitsu-chan sounded exhausted on the other line, Junpei thought. 

“It is, I promise,” Junpei spoke into the receiver. “This kid I just met, I think he’s our guy.” 

“You mean, you’ve been there all of two days and you found him already?” ‘Well jeez, Mitsu-chan, have some faith in me.’ “What’s his name?”

“Ren Amamiya. He started school here last month, Kamoshida started picking on him immediately, he told me.”

“He just outright told you that.” He could practically hear Mitsuru shaking her head. “How has he remained covert at all if he told you all that while barely knowing you?”

“That’s the thing, Mitsu-chan. He’s got something about him, it’s like a magnet or something,” Iori thought. “It reminds me of Minato. He’s got the same reckless streak.”

“...”

“Iori, we’re going to keep an eye on this kid for a bit and make sure we’re right. I’ll tell Wakaba to keep an eye out for him as well. You? Just be the best volleyball coach you can be. From what I’m hearing, those kids really need an adult they can trust.”

“Mitsu-chan, that’s what I’m best at.” Junpei thought again. “Well, I’m best at coaching baseball. But kids like me. We’ll be fine.”

They said their goodbyes and hung up the phone. 

‘I wonder if I should call Minako.’ Iori thought. ‘Maybe I’ll get Chidorita’s opinion first.’

===

Ren made it back to LeBlanc to drop off his school bag to find he had a message from two unknown numbers and Sumire. He checked Sumire’s message first.

 **SY:** Souji wants to know if you know how to cook?

 **RA:** I make curry and coffee and a few other things. Why?

 **SY:** I think he messaged you. Kasumi stole your number from me and gave it to him.

 **SY:** But she said she isn’t stealing you from me.

 **SY:** I don’t know what she means by that

 **RA:** That’s okay, I prefer the glasses look anyway.

 **SY:**!!! you can’t say stuff like that!

 **RA:** I can feel you blushing through the phone

 **SY:** ... I’m not talking to you.

Ren laughed at his phone like he hadn’t in a very long time. ‘I should have made more of an effort to meet new people. I guess this is a product of things mattering, again.’

 **KY:** Thank you for letting us eat with you!

 **RA:** Anytime, Kasumi

 **KY:** I think Souji has a crush on you

 **KY:** not like a real one but he won’t shut up about you

 **RA:** I am pretty cool it makes sense

 **KY:** Why does Sumire look like a volcano about to erupt

 **RA:** Idk ask to see her phone

There was no response for a minute but right as Ren went to check other messages, she got back to him.

 **KY:** Oh god you really can’t say stuff like that to her

 **KY:** sumire.exe has stopped responding

 **RA:** Oh hey you say that too

There was no response; he could only imagine the conversation they were having. ‘Shouldn’t they be at gymnastics practice?

He checked his other messages.

 **SS:** Hey, Kasumi stole your number from Sumire

 **SS:** Can you and Haru let me use your vegetables? I like to cook.

 **RA:** Sure dude, but you’ll need to talk to Haru. I think she’s the actual head of the gardening club. I was just a nearby loiterer.

 **SS:** Ok I’ll talk to her tomorrow.

===

Makoto practically floated on air the rest of her trip back to the apartment. She’d been meaning to try and broaden her horizons but a date? That was a level she never expected to get to. And Akechi was cute, thoughtful and smart. The fact that he had been homeless wasn’t even on Makoto’s mind. She expected him to bring some insecurities to the table later in regards to his upbringing, but she had her own to worry about. 

‘I’m already planning for the future and we haven’t even had a first date yet. That’s only a lot creepy.’ She paused her thought as she set her bag down next to her desk. ‘A girl can dream, though, right?’ She gave a dreamy sigh and returned to the living room, where Sae was glaring a hole into her laptop.

“Sis, you said you needed me home?” Sae jerked out of her trance at Makoto’s words. 

“Yes, sorry, I keep getting distracted.” Sae closed her laptop. “What do you know about Kamoshida?”

Makoto didn’t expect to be questioned. “Well, he never touched me, if you’re asking about that.”

Sae let out a short relieved breath. “That was one thing I was going to ask about.”

“Well, no, he did try something with one of my friends, but a transfer student shut that right down.”

Sae’s eyes narrowed. “A transfer? Anyone I’ve heard of?”

“Ren Amamiya. He was falsely charged with assault.”

Sae glared harder, as if that were possible. “You know that for sure?”

“I do. And you can’t change my mind.” Makoto shot her own glare back. “He’s a good person. I’ve only known him a few weeks but it’s like he’s been there forever.”

Sae rolled her eyes. “I always knew you’d crush on the first bad boy to give you attention.”

“No, actually my crush is on his best friend.”

Laughter didn’t come easy to Sae, so she didn’t laugh, but she would have been lying in that moment if she said she hadn’t thought to at least giggle. “You’ve got a crush?”

“Actually, I have a date.” Makoto wasn’t comfortable with the lighthearted direction this conversation was going. “You’d actually like him, too. He wants to be a detective.”

It was true. Makoto had gone with Akechi to get some decorations for his room on Sunday; he left the store with a big poster of Naoto Shirogane, the Detective Prince. 

“Oh? What’re his grades like?”

“I don’t really know, he’s uh, he’s been homeless most of his life. He’s an orphan.” Makoto wasn’t about to pry into Akechi’s past yet. If he wanted to tell her, he could.

“I’ll just have to ask him myself when I meet him.” Sae’s eyes narrowed. “I will meet him, right?” 

“Um! Eventually. We haven’t had our first date yet, so let’s do that much first.”

Sae laughed. A real laugh. “I’m so thrilled, though. Boy drama? That I can deal with. I got a phone call from Principal Kobayakawa asking if I thought you were a Phantom Thief. I didn’t even know what that is. I had to ask around. He said you were distracted.”

Makoto tried not to let her poker face slip. “Yeah, but Akechi is really smart. Even if he’s distracting, we study together, too. That’s how this started, actually.”

Makoto and Sae then spent the next couple of hours talking, like the old days, like things were before their father passed.

“Sis, how did you know about Kamoshida?” There hadn’t been a confession and things were still a bit up in the air. Sure, a new gym teacher was already hired, but there was still the anxiety of waiting for a confession.

“The department can’t keep a lid on things. They’re expecting an in person confession soon,” Sae said. “If he confesses, we’ll have the Phantom Thieves to thank for getting a predator off the streets.”

“Sis, are you a fan of the Phantom Thieves?”

“I don’t know. But if what that calling card said was true, and he confesses? I can’t be mad at real life superheroes. Maybe I’d see about becoming one.”

Makoto didn’t know what to think.

===

_One week earlier_

“You were a bastard, Leviathan,” Takuto Maruki stood in front of a collapsed Shadow of Sae Niijima. “I’m not asking you to confess anything. I’m here on my own accord.”

The shadow was inconsolable. “Please… don’t take my treasure.” Behind her was a bright yellow notebook with a big red spiral through the top. It’s front label read “My First Investigator” and in crayon under it was “Big Sis Sae.”

Takuto couldn’t bring himself to take it.

“If you can reform with a palace still here, I’ll leave it.” He sighed. “But one step out of line, I’ll be back for it. You hear me?”

The shadow nodded.

Takuto exited the palace through the front door. There were no shadows in sight.

===

Wakaba Isshiki’s phone rang at 1 a.m. that Sunday night.

“It’s Wakaba,” she answered.

“Hey. I’m not doing this much longer. We’re going to need to act soon.” Takuto’s voice.

Wakaba cleared her throat. “I’ll talk to Mitsuru.”

Yukari Takeba was on the next private bus to Tokyo; Junpei Iori had an interview scheduled for a job in Tokyo inside the next week; Chie Satonaka, who worked training other cops, was reassigned to walk the streets of Shibuya; Rise Kujikawa’s tour was postponed because of an unforeseen family issue. 

They weren’t able to get everyone; Sanada had to stay home with the kids and Aragaki couldn’t afford to close down his restaurant for a week. Amagi couldn’t get away from the inn, either. Naoto would probably be around: She always showed up when there was trouble. Kanji would be right behind her, Yosuke and Teddie following.

“A real family issue, in a sense,” Wakaba said aloud. “Just need to get Arisato and Nurakami some free time.”

===

_One week later_

Coach Hiraguchi sat in a locker room with two of her most promising athletes, the Yoshizawa twins. 

“I’m leaving for a couple weeks to help a friend move out of the country,” she said. “You’ll have a substitute coach for that time. She’s… well she’s all I could find at the last second. If she would have shown up on time, I’d have introduced you.”

The locker room doors swung open and a loud voice yelled “AH! I’m here! I’m here! Sorry, I’ve never been to Tokyo before.” A short auburn-haired girl stood before them, not much taller than the twins. “This is going to be so much fun.”

Minako Arisato had, apparently, found herself in Tokyo for the next few weeks.

===

_Present day_

“Hey, you’re back,” Sojiro greeted with a smile; LeBlanc wasn’t empty. Sitting in Wakaba’s usual booth was Wakaba Isshiki, Yukari Takeba, and an auburn-haired woman he didn’t recognize. She had a very bright smile on her face: Morgana was in his happy place, having his chin scratched by a pretty woman. Futaba was sitting at the bar working on something unforeseen on her laptop.

“Are all the women you’re dating coming to meet Wakaba or just these two?” Ren said with a smirk, and everyone but Sojiro laughed.

“If they weren’t here to see you, I’d be making you do the dishes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the longest chapter yet and I'm near where I thought would be the mid point of the story, initially, but as I write I keep coming up with new ideas for where things can end up later so, yeah. This might be a long one.
> 
> I know I said ships wouldn't be central to the story, but I really struggled with not having a ship for Ren. It makes sense, to me, that he'd fall for the first new person to show interest in a literal century. I'm not really a ship kind of guy, but if I had to choose for any OTHER story I'm writing, I'd pick Ann or Makoto. 
> 
> Also, I swear Ann and Shiho will amount to more than just comic relief. 
> 
> 10-14-20: Chapters 1 through 7 have officially seen an additional round of edits. There are some continuity errors and spelling errors I've fixed, but the story is largely the same. Little bits of foreshadowing have made their way in, as well. I've also done chapter 10. Thanks for reading!


	8. Never a Coincidence

The woman Ren didn’t recognize was the first one to make eye-contact. She was pretty, he thought, with hair a few shades darker than Haru's. 

“Wow, Igor’s really got a type, huh,” she said, smirking. Wakaba looked confused, unsure of who the girl was referencing but Takeba laughed. 

“He really does look like your brother,” the famed actress said. “I just hope he’s not as big of a mope.” The woman pushed Takeba out of the booth so she could greet Ren properly. 

"Fuck off, you loved that mope." Ren wondered if she was a sailor. “Hiya, I’m Minako Arisato,” she grinned and stuck out a hand. Ren took it. “It’s nice to meet you.”

‘There’s something weird about this woman,’ Ren thought. ‘Weird to the point where- oh wait nope there it is.’ Ren barely managed to get out “Likewise, I’m Ren Amamiya” before it registered that Yukari Takeba, Pink Argus, was standing in LeBlanc.

Between her and Sumire, Ren was having strong regrets on his vow of single-hood until everything was back to normal. ‘Not like I’d ever stand a chance with Takeba anyway.’

‘...’

‘Do I at least try?’ 

He turned towards Takeba, trying to look cool and properly said “holy shit, you’re Pink Argus” before any other rational thoughts could form in his brain.

‘I absolutely did not nail that one.’

Both Takeba and Minako started laughing; Wakaba shook her head, exasperated.

“Did I at least react better than Futaba?” Ren asked Wakaba across the two visitors while Futaba, still typing away at something on her laptop, raised her head acknowleding that she was mentioned. 

Takeba answered before Wakaba could say anything. 

“Define ‘better.’” Takeba said, rolling her eyes while Minako attempted to stifle another laugh. 

The three Persona-users continued their banter while Wakaba and Sojiro exchanged a look. It was getting near closing time anyway, and Wakaba expected Sojiro to close up soon.

“Alright,” Wakaba cut through the chatter, although she was glad everyone was becoming fast friends. “I’m hoping Soji doesn’t mind us using LeBlanc after he closes up,” she said, as she gestured towards him. “We have some things to discuss.”

He looked around sheepishly. “It’s really not fair to leave the kid with three beautiful women,” he said, “but, when it comes to Wakaba, I want plausible deniability for whatever happens after. I’ll leave.” He gestured at Ren. “Lock up. And behave.” He looked at Futaba. “You comin’?”

Futaba shook her head no.

“If she leaves, she’s going to eavesdrop anyway,” Wakaba said. “She can stay.”

He walked out the front door, flipping the sign to ‘closed;’ Minako gave him a wave.

“Isshiki-san, he’s _cute_ ,” she teased.

“If you call me Isshiki-san one more time I’ll shut down your brain,” Ren winced. ‘A century later, we finally found something even I won’t joke about.’ “But yes, Sojiro is very cute.”

“I keep telling mom they should get mar-” Futaba gets interrupted.

“ _Futaba!_ ” Wakaba didn’t blush like any of the younger girls did, but there was a sense of embarrassment as she spoke. “I don’t think he’s interested like that.”

“I can attest that he is,” Ren spoke up.

“You don’t know that,” Wakaba got a tad defensive. “He would’ve said something.”

“I’m literally a time traveler who has lived almost the same year a hundred times,” Ren said. “But sure, I wouldn’t know.”

Takeba and Minako stared at him.

“Oh. Yeah. That’s not a normal thing to say.” Ren started whistling a little tune his grandma taught him as a child. ‘I’m just going to whistle casually and hope that whole thing just blows over.’

“Well, I was going to save that for later,” Wakaba eyed Ren. “Given I thought that was a secret. And given our limited knowledge of quantum mechanics and how literally everything you do could collapse the known universe. But okay. I guess that’s the hard part out of the way.”

Minako looked at Wakaba, and then at Ren, and then at Wakaba, and then at Takeba, and then at Futaba. “I want coffee.” That was quickly followed up by “So, like, I’ve seen a lot of crazy shit. I mean, my brother is the seal that holds death back from destroying the world.” She paused. “But I also really want coffee.” She thought. “If you could destroy the world by just acting, doesn’t that kind of make you like Death?” 

Ren had no reply. He hadn’t thought of it that way. ‘Does this end with me being sealed away like Death?’

“Anyway, guy that might get us all killed, make me coffee! NOW!” She was obviously trying to lighten the mood a bit.

Ren got the impression that Minako didn’t allow the people around her to feel self-conscious; or perhaps she had a magnetic personality that drew people to her.

“So, the two craziest parts of this were just blurted out.” Wakaba just shook her head. It wasn’t like Minako to apologize in the first place, but hopefully some focus could at least keep Ren from spiraling into an existential crisis. “Are all of the wildcards this big of a handful?”

“Probably,” Minako replied. 

“Wait, you’re a wildcard?” Ren looked at Minako. 

“Sure am! My brother and I both.” Sadness didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Perks of being twins, I guess.”

They were interrupted by someone clearing their throat.

“I need to focus,” Wakaba tried to look serious but a serious look only ever went so far with Minako. “My guy reached out,” she looked at Ren like she was trying to communicate telepathically. “He wants out.”

‘My guy,’ Ren thought. Then he thought some more. ‘Maruki, probably. I don’t think Wakaba had told anyone besides us about him.’

“The guy doing the shutdowns, right?” Minako asked while Takeba looked around with her eyebrows raised. “Oh, we totally haven’t told Yukari yet.” 

Of course Minako knew. It seemed that Wakaba trusted her in a way that Ren assumed she only trusted Sojiro. Apparently, Ren thought, that was a trait all the wildcards shared. 

Minako was certainly magnetic in a way greater than Junpei. He expected the magnetism surrounding Coach Iori was his own, as a Wildcard. It would make sense for that sense to go both ways when it comes to Persona users.

“Anyway, now you know, Yukari. I’d like to pretend I wasn’t withholding information from Kirijo, but it wasn’t out of malice,” Wakaba said.

“‘Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead,’” Ren quoted something he’d heard Iwai say. 

“Correct,” Wakaba raised her eyebrows. “Who originally said that?”

Ren gave her a goofy look. “I’m not saying nothing.”

Wakaba sighed. “I meant the famous person, not whatever obviously shady character you’re hanging around. It was Ben Franklin.” She gave a huff. “Kids.” She paused. “There’s a plan, but it’s a long one. We need to get everything into place right now. Ren, you’ve got some foresight into the situation. What is the most common outcome for the Phantom Thieves?”

Ren explained, starting with Kamoshida and what has already happened, before talking about Madarame. “We were actually about to start getting ready to go after him but we need to wait until next Monday; Kamoshida still hasn’t confessed yet. He usually doesn’t for a week or two. But Madarame is next, as far as we know.” He continued his explanation: Kaneshiro would be the third they’d go after but he was thinking of changing things up this time. "Kobayakawa has a palace, too. If we can steal his heart we can save his life. They can’t shut him down if he doesn’t have a palace or a shadow.” Wakaba nodded. She knew the drill. “The fourth palace that follows Kaneshiro normally is, uh, I’ll let Wakaba tell that story to you guys if she wants to. It’s too personal.

“We can talk about this at a later date, with Futaba, and a mediator, and possibly a trained psychologist. And maybe some shrooms.” Ren continued with the story. “Okumara comes after that, but I thought of a faster way to take him out without getting him killed.” 

“How many people, exactly, have you guys killed in your past life?” Takeba questioned.

“The Phantom Thieves? No people, not that I know of. We’ve defeated god a bunch of times though, and he typically goes away for a while. It’s just that the people we get to change typically die after because of the conspiracy mumbo jumbo. Everything’s been so nuts lately, I kind of forget about them.”

“It’s hard to hold a grudge when nothing matters,” Minako said sadly. “You remind me too much of Minato.”

“Anyway, what’s the plan for Okumara?” Wakaba changed the subject, not allowing Minako to mope any further.”

“You’re going to think I’m stupid.” Ren looked and nobody batted an eyelash. “What do you guys know about trade unions?”

No response. “Nothing?”

“...” Minako looked like she was about to say something. “I wonder what Tanaka is up to.”

“Wait, you know Shady Tanaka!?” Ren said excitedly.

“Back on track please!” Wakaba shouted over a cheered-up Minako reminiscing about her devil arcana connection. 

“Anyway, the one following Okumara is Sae Niijima. Makoto’s sister.” Ren sighed. “I don’t know if that one will even be on the table this time. The catalyst for that one is usually Akechi. He uh, stopped being evil like, 12 loops ago, and he started joining us last loop.” Ren thought for a second. “This Akechi, no matter who he looks like, is a good kid. I can’t trust him completely and that kills me.”

‘This whole thing really is a bitch,’ Ren thought.

“Shido follows that. But this time is so different. There are so many factors, people I’ve never met. You people, for example.”

Futaba nodded as if she understood.

“Time travel ruins literally every story it touches,” Futaba said. “It was cool for like, three movies and one book and that’s literally it. It makes sense that it doesn’t make sense here, either.”

“But, I’m glad you’re here. Because you’re here, I feel like there’s a way out. I hope that helps you lay out your plan better.”

Wakaba nodded. “It does. Would you mind us sharing that information with the rest of our operatives?”

Ren hesitated. “I still have to tell the rest of the Thieves. Only Futaba and Makoto know right now, and we still don’t have our whole group together. I can’t imagine getting all your guys together is simple, either.”

Minako spoke up this time. “It’ll happen more easily than you’d think, most of us have found ourselves in Tokyo for the next few weeks. I’ll actually be here til the end of May.”

“I’m curious about that, what does a former Wildcard even do? I keep trying to decide what I’m going to do if I ever escape this hell and right now, everything seems too mundane.”

Minako agreed. “Yeah, I mostly just hang out with Aigis and waitress at my friend’s restaurant.” She smacked her forehead, as if remembering something. “I’m actually here filling in for a gymnastics coach. I’ve been trying to get into coaching, anyway.”

“No kidding,” Ren thought. There were no coincidences, he had learned, when it comes to Persona users. “One of my friends is a gymnast, do you know her?”

“I’m coaching twins, I doubt they’re the same people,” Nope, no coincidences ever, Ren thought after her retort.

“Yoshizawa twins?” Ren asked.

“There really are no coincidences here, are there?” Minako chuckled.

“Never.”

===

“What do you think of the new coach?” Kasumi asked Sumire. It was getting late, much later than either of them were used to. Sumire was trying to keep up her studies on top of gymnastics but she was retaining no information. Kasumi was sitting on her bed playing some game on her phone.

“She seemed, I don’t know,” Sumire said. “She seems kind of weird.” She started cleaning up her school books and notebooks, shoving them back into her bag. “I can’t put my finger on it.”

Kasumi nodded. “She was enthusiastic, at least. But I got the impression she’s never done this before.” Kasumi wasn’t thrilled about having a new coach. “But we have to trust Coach Hiraguchi. She wouldn’t put us under just anyone, right?” Sumire plopped down on her bed, but she was still sitting up.

“I believe Coach would only do what’s best for us,” Sumire said. “But there was something else off about Coach Arisato.” 

“Yes.” Kasumi agreed.

There was a brief silence, maybe 15 seconds, before Sumire posed another question.

“Do you believe in ghosts?” Sumire asked.

Kasumi gasped. “You saw it, too?”

The two ran each other’s stories passed each other: Coach Arisato, running late, burst through the doors of the gym, followed by a ghostly figure. It was tall, much taller than Arisato, with long blue legs and a harp for a middle. It had an angular, masculine face that might have been made of steel and long brown-ish red hair, similar to Arisato. The ghost disappeared before the new coach could speak up to introduce herself.

“So, we’re either having a shared delusion, or Coach is being followed around by a ghost.” Kasumi nodded in agreement. They sat in silence for a while before Kasumi spoke up.

“I’m going to sleep on this,” she reached over and turned off the light. “Goodnight.”

Sumire had laid back on her pillow a bit ago, anyway, staring at the ceiling, believing that, beyond a shadow of a doubt, she had an ephemeral encounter with a phantom. “Goodnight.”

===

“Have you told Iori you love him yet?” Ann prodded Shiho over their shared crepe. They were sitting on an outdoor patio outside the crepe shop in Shibuya.

“He’s married, you ass,” Shiho retorted before taking a bite out of a piece particularly loaded with strawberries. 

“Like that would stop your stubborn ass,” Ann joked, but the smile accompanying the joke didn’t meet her eyes. Shiho noticed a brief frown that followed the joke.

“You wouldn't know my ass is stubborn if you'd stop looking at it. Is there a problem with me having a coach I actually like?” Shiho shifted her tone. She wanted a real answer. Ann had felt tense ever since that first practice, where it seemed like Coach Iori was just an aloof goofball who had no knowledge of volleyball.

“No, no. I’m being stupid.” Ann replied. She was normally quick to realize when she was wrong, Shiho thought, so nothing completely out of the ordinary. “I just didn’t know I could get jealous over something like that.”

Shiho raised her eyebrows. “Jealous? Over what?” What could Ann possibly have to be jealous over?

Ann gave a sheepish look and her cheeks gained a bit of color. She said something that Shiho couldn’t quite hear.

“I have no idea what you just said,” Shiho replied. “Look, if you can’t say it, don’t, but I’m not about to stop enjoying myself because you don’t want me to have friends other than you.”

Shiho was going to storm off. ‘I don’t have time for her to act like she can’t talk to me,’ she thought. ‘This is grade school bullshit.’

“I just want you to talk about me that way,” Ann said, still quieter than her normal voice. “I’m being stupid, Shiho.”

Shiho looked at her. It was hard for her to gush about her best friend when her best friend was the only person she had meaningful interaction with. Her parents were far too busy to listen to her talk about her friends, although they loved having Ann around. And around she was: Her parents were home so rarely that Shiho might as well have been her family.

“Ann…” Shiho thought. “Okay, you’re being a little stupid. But I get it.”

Ann didn’t reply, instead choosing to glare at her crepe like it ran over the family dog.

“I know our extracurriculars have gotten in the way lately and we haven’t spent much time together,” Shiho said. “But that’s something we can fix. We don’t have anything coming up this week. What if we spend some time together after school tomorrow? No thieves. Just us. No last second crepes,” Shiho gestured. “It’ll be like an actual date.”

“Date…?” Ann said. Shiho’s cheeks gained some color but she wasn’t as easily overwhelmed.

“Women can go on dates together, Ann. It’s normal.” Shiho was adamant.

“Okay. Okay, I’d like that.” The two finished their crepe and departed for the night.

===

Sae didn’t handle introspection well but life had been good lately. She felt it ungrateful if she were to avoid thinking about how quickly things had turned around. She wasn’t religious, but this quick turnaround isn’t something that could occur naturally. ‘Maybe I should go to a shrine,’ she thought.

She wasn’t sure what could have possibly happened that her whole outlook on life changed so drastically. ‘It’s like the opposite of a mental shutdown,’ she thought. ‘I feel awake for the first time in years.’

She had gotten off work a bit earlier than usual today; it wasn’t for a lack of work, she was told, but there was a case incoming that the station was bringing Naoto Shirogane in for. Meaning, they wanted Shirogane to sink her teeth into the case before Sae could. This normally would have frustrated her to no end, but today? Sae was just happy to have some extra time to herself. 

The night rolled along and when Makoto got home, they’d had a real conversation. 

Makoto had a crush. Makoto confided in her about that crush. Sae was elated that her sister still trusted her. ‘I don’t deserve that trust.’

Her sister was in bed now; Sae was sitting in the living room, mindlessly watching television. The news had a short feature on Rise Kujikawa running. ‘Is Makoto still at the age where she thinks of stuff like that?’ Risette was an idol and while neither of them ever paid much attention to idol culture, she was one of the bigger ones. It would be hard to escape her notoriety.

‘Makoto isn’t much for music anyway, as far as I know.’ But then Sae thought further. ‘I don’t really know, I guess. Maybe I should try harder to find out what she _is_ into.’

She shut off the television and went to her room, and slept soundly. 

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter serves the purpose of slowing down my pace more than it does anything else. I need to give characters room to breathe and just jumping from progress to progress isn't the point of this story. 
> 
> Ren is really going to get himself stuck in a love quadrangle with a whole ass gymnastics team.
> 
> I'm kidding. Kind of.
> 
> 10-14-20: Updated the chapter. nothing major here, just added some minor detail, a couple jokes and some foreshadowing. This chapter really feels like I was more comfortable writing at this point, so I'm hoping everything after this becomes a bit easier to update.


	9. Minako's Best Buddy Garrity Impression

_April 26; Evening_

**MN:** So. 

**MN:** When does Kamoshida usually confess?

 **RA:** May 2. But that usually hinges on some factors that we don’t have this time.

 **RA:** Usually, me, Ryuji Sakamoto and Yuuki Mishima are threatened with expulsion.

 **MN:** Neither of them are involved. Yuuki doesn’t even go here. He transferred last semester.

 **RA:** Oh. Well Sakamoto usually joins us. No Mishima is a problem, too. 

**RA:** Also. Yuuki? You guys good friends?

 **MN:** it might be my fault he transferred

 **RA:** Makoto Niijima bullied Yuuki Mishima out of Shujin Academy. This truly is the darkest timeline.

 **MN:** That is not what happened!

 **MN:** kinda looks that way though

 **MN:** I’m not a bully though

 **RA:** I was kidding. But okay. 

===

_The previous July_

Makoto had heard of the rumors surrounding Suguru Kamoshida’s volleyball practices and as the semester ended, the coach had scheduled a “voluntary” workout in order to whip his players into shape before summer tournaments began. The newly-elected second year Student Council President had wanted to make the school a better place and she suspected two of her senpai had transferred out last semester to escape Kamoshida. 

The light side of the rumor was that he was a giant pervert; the dark side of the rumor was that he raped Suzuki-senpai and Kana-chan. Both had left the school to no fanfare, unusual for two star volleyball players. There were rumors of lawsuits against the school but nothing could ever get confirmed. A journalist was hanging outside the school daily trying to get students to confirm the rumors, but Principal Kobayakawa threatened anyone who talked with expulsion. ‘The exploits of the school’s shining star seems of no concern to him,’ Makoto thought, frustrated. 

She sat in the student council room waiting for her scheduled appointment, a first-year named Yuuki Mishima. She had noticed him the day previous covered in bruises; regardless of where they came from, they were coming from abuse of some sort, Makoto was sure of it. Whether that abuse came from the gym teacher, Mishima’s parents or a bully remained to be seen, but regardless, Makoto was sure that she was doing the right thing. She sat at the table at the center of the room, reading _1Q84_ in an attempt to distract herself from the Kamoshida situation.

‘I really couldn’t have picked a worse book,’ she thought. Murakami novels aren’t exactly known for their light subject matter.

Eventually, though, Mishima did knock on the student council room door.

“Come in, it’s open,” Makoto greeted.

“Niijima-senpai,” Mishima bowed. “What did you need?”

“I have some questions about volleyball practice,” she closed the door. “Please, sit. You really look like you need to.”

Mishima was covered from head to toe in bruises. His cheek was turning purple from a darker color must’ve been a short time ago and he walked with a limp. It looked like he could barely stand. Makoto almost wanted to give him a hug, until she realized that would probably just hurt the bruised first-year even further.

He gingerly sat in the chair opposite Makoto, groaning as he sat down. It reminded her of her grandfather from when she was a small child: He couldn’t pick her up because of a back injury he’d sustained while working on the fishing boats. Her dad constantly nagged her grandfather to see a doctor; “Acupuncture doesn’t work on a muscle tear, old timer!” She remembered hearing the arguments that often led to colorful language and the “old timer” lecturing the “young whippersnapper” on how real men didn’t need doctors.

In the moment, Makoto wanted to first ask if Mishima was receiving any treatment, but she decided that it could wait.

“Tell me what happened,” Makoto pleaded. Regardless of who did this to him, they needed to be brought to justice. Even if it wasn’t Kamoshida, nobody could get put in such a state without a malicious attack being involved. “Please.”

It wasn’t like Mishima could shrink from the questioning any further. He was already regretting not blowing off the Student Council President but she was as scary as Kamoshida, in her own way. He was a glare away from transferring schools, or so he told himself. Makoto, of course, knew none of this. She only saw an abuse victim protecting his abuser. Mishima sat in silence.

“Mishima-kun, you really need to speak up,” Makoto said. “Especially if this is someone at the school. I have to protect the students.”

“I can’t,” Mishima barely got out. His lunch almost followed the words. He swallowed hard. “I’m not hurt. I’m fine.” 

Makoto didn’t know what she really expected to happen. She’d seen enough of those news specials to know that victims didn’t just turn their abusers in all willy-nilly. There was almost always a catalyst. 

Things almost always had to go too far before anything got done.

“Well, I know you won’t tell me, but I have an idea of what’s going on,” Makoto eyed the first-year sympathetically. “I’ll be at the next few volleyball practices to make sure nothing is going on.”

Mishima looked like she’d just threatened to skin the family dog alive. His eyes wide before he shut them and looked downward. His fists were clenched and Makoto swore she could see a tremble as he focused on his breathing.

“You don’t want to get involved, Niijima-senpai,” Mishima’s warning sounded more like a plea. “It’s my fault. I’m just not very good. I’ll never learn without Kamoshida’s help.”

Makoto tried not to let her jaw hang open for too long. She opened her mouth to speak but held her words. Mishima wasn’t going to listen. She dismissed him and resolved to go to Principal Kobayakawa the next day. Somebody had to do something.

Of course, Kobayakawa was more concerned with Makoto spreading rumors than he was about any misgivings by the school’s shining star gym teacher. Mishima transferred just a few days later and rumors started spreading that he was beaten and threatened by the Student Council President.

===

 **RA:** dude what the fuck

 **RA:** im so sorry that wasn’t funny at all

 **MN:** I’m starting to see the humor in it now that it’s almost over.

 **MN:** Mishima got away. His dad works in the same building with my sister. He’s at Kosei now and thriving.

 **MN:** He took up photography.

 **MN:** He did a great shoot with Ann before you transferred in

 **RA:** Oh. Well. I’m not used to happy endings

‘I’m literally cryin’ at the club right now,’ Ren thought. 

He took an impromptu trip to Crossroads after school on Tuesday, knowing that Kamoshida’s confession was bound to happen soon and thinking getting Ohya the scoop early might make it easier to limit the damage done by the God of Control. If all the information was available immediately, people had to pay attention. Right?

Right.

Ohya was so thrilled for the scoop that she puked all over Ren’s shoes.

“Hey, Lala-chan, do you still have a spare change of clothes in the back there?”

“How did you know I had spare clothes?”

“Mother’s intuition.”

“You’re a teenage boy.”

“I know what I said.”

It was probably best that Ohya wouldn't remember this encounter beyond her notes.

===

_Wednesday, April 27; Morning_

“So, we just ask her about the ghost, right?” Kasumi hadn’t even said so much as ‘good morning’ to her sister. ‘It really wasn’t a good morning though, so why lie?’ She thought.

Kasumi and Sumire got next to no sleep the last two nights knowing they shared visions of a metallic ghost following their gymnastics teacher. Sumire had been researching on her phone through most of the night trying to figure out what the apparition could have been. Sumire settled on it being the ghost of Orpheus, a mythological Greek musician she remembered reading about in school.

“Sumire, you’re ridiculous,” Kasumi complained. “Just because we read about that in class last week doesn’t mean it’s just going to show up and start following our coach around.”

“Yeah,” Sumire agreed. “You’re right. No way that’s it.”

===

Sae had gotten to work refreshed and ready to go that morning: Her new case hadn’t been made completely clear to her yet but she didn’t mind. It left her with enough free time to do some research of her own. For the first time since his death, Sae was going to have enough time to view the files related to it. She wasn’t sure if not having time was the reason she’d never pulled the files before. It had more to do with it being an unhealthy distraction from her obsession with winning.

Except, she wasn’t going to get to open the manila folder. There was a knock at the door.

“It’s open,” Sae spoke in the door’s direction.

“Excuse me, I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” a short woman stood in the doorway. She wore a blue dress shirt with a short tie and black pants. “I’m the detective on the Yamanishi case.”

“Yes, great, come in. I’ve been looking forward to meeting,” Sae didn’t want to seem like she was hiding anything, and she supposed she wasn’t. Looking into her father’s death wasn’t anything that should get her into trouble. ‘I’m honestly not even sure why I feel like it might,’ she had thought to herself. She stuck a hand out as the original Detective Prince stepped into her office. “Sae Niijima,” she said as the younger woman took her hand. 

“Naoto Shirogane,” the younger woman replied. The Detective Prince glanced over at the desk. “I was actually wondering if you could meet me somewhere for lunch tomorrow. I’d like to discuss the case a bit with you. It’s not as cut and dry as you’d think.” She leaned in and said a bit more quietly. “Bring the file on your desk with you.”

Sae’s eyes widened, her thoughts immediately reaching a level of self-disgust she hadn’t felt in a couple weeks. She should have known, she thought, that looking into that case was a bad idea. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sae sucked at lying. She sucked even more at lying vaguely. The lessened distortion made her a better person and in turn, a worse prosecutor.

“You aren’t in trouble over it,” the detective raised her hands as if to show she wasn’t a threat. “That case is part of the reason I was stationed here.”

“Stationed?”

“Later.” Shirogane left.

‘Is the Detective Prince some kind of spy?’ Sae thought. And she thought the Phantom Thieves stories were out there. Her own personal life was growing more peculiar by the day.

===

‘Arisato-san is the best!’ Sumire thought. This practice had featured her own best performances, over and over again. Every practice run, Sumire felt she was having a breakthrough. Both her and Kasumi could acknowledge that they’d never felt this energetic through a practice before and by the time it was over, Sumire felt wired like she’d drank a whole pot of coffee by herself.

Coach Arisato’s attitude was contagious.

“Okay, it’s getting late and I think we need to call it for the day,” Minako said, checking her watch and noticing the time reaching 4:59 p.m. “Great practice, Hiraguchi is going to be very happy with your progress when she returns.”

Minako loved coaching and the Yoshizawa twins were a trip. They bickered constantly over anything competitive but they were also quick to pick each other up if anything went wrong. It reminded Minako of those trips to Tartarus where everyone else was too tired; her and Minato would stay on the lower levels in an attempt to push each other’s limits without putting anyone in danger. 

Minato was always far better at getting the monsters to work against each other; he relied more on status effects and clever tactics. Minako was always a brute force kind of gal and she still was. Minako was gung ho about coaching, gung ho about slaying shadows, and now she was definitely gung ho about taking out this new existential threat. 

She was even more gung ho about possibly getting her brother back. That’s what Kirijo promised. 

Minako felt she needed to focus; she thought it would be important to get to know the kids she was in charge of, at least.

“So, what else do you guys do for fun besides?” She asked the twins as they packed up their stuff to head home for the day. 

Sumire looked up at her and passed her, Minako thought. “Is there something behind me?” She asked as she turned around.

“Sorry, Coach, it’s weird. But we both noticed it,” Sumire said. Kasumi nodded.

“Coach, we’re pretty sure there’s a ghost following you,” Kasumi warned. “It’s not always there but if I look really hard, I can see the outline.”

Minako tried to hide the extent of her surprise that the twins could see something behind her. ‘I certainly haven’t summoned anything in awhile,’ Minako thought. And maybe that was the problem, she thought further. Aragaki, at some point, had to take pills to suppress his Persona, and Minaka hadn’t summoned any of her Personas in a long time. It hadn’t been necessary. “Can you guys tell me what the ghost looks like?”

The twins looked back and forth at each other, having an unspoken conversation in a style Minako was familiar with, deciding Kasumi would be the one to explain it.

“It’s kind of this blue-ish color. It looks like metal. And there’s a harp? He’s also very handsome.” Kasumi described Orpheus, for sure. 

“That’s very strange, girls,” Minako said. “Well, I can assure you that I don’t have a ghost following me around.” Technically, Minako added in her head. Change the subject. “Hey, do you guys know Ren Amamiya?” 

Both the twins lit up at the mention of their senpai.

“You know Ren-senpai?” Sumire spoke up first and far more quickly than she probably intended. 

“I do, he actually mentioned you, and Kasumi, too,” Minako said. “I think there was a boy he mentioned, too.”

Subject officially changed. The twins gushed about the boy they’d only just met like he was a new toy.

“I have a feeling you two will be seeing him more often,” Minako said while pulling out her phone.

 **MA:** Hey, its Minako

 **MA:** Need to run something by you

 **MA:** Not related to the plan

 **RA:** Okay, when? 

Minako thought about when she’d have time next.

 **MA:** Friday night? You can come to mine and Takeba’s place

 **RA:** You two live together?

 **MA:** Yeah, Kirijo’s doing

 **RA:** Will Takeba-san be there?

 **MA:** Yes. But so will Yoshizawas, hopefully

 **MA:** No, you can’t make a move on Yukari

 **RA:** I wasn’t going to. I assume I’m not her type. And probably too young

 **MA:** Sadly, you’re literally the closest to her type there is but I’m vetoing it

 **RA:** Jerk

 **MA:** Yes

“Hey, how would you guys like to have dinner with me and Ren Friday?” Minako asked and both the girls lit up. “Alright, I’m guessing we have a plan then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Buddy Garrity is one of the head boosters from the high school on Friday Night Lights, a show I think fans of dating sims and slice of life anime should give a shot. It's a little over the top dramatic, and yeah, football is a huge part of it, but it's just great. I think it's on Hulu.
> 
> Anyway, the next couple of chapters will be a bit shorter because the Kamoshida confession chapter is a bear of a chapter that I'm still editing. In the meantime, there are some smaller lead-in things I'd like to touch on, which includes bringing the Yoshizawas into the story more and expanding on Souji as a character. There's more to everyone than I think I've portrayed so far, so I'm going to start sticking to shorter chapters dedicated to expanding characters.
> 
> And I'm so grateful so many people are reading this. All the comments, kudos, bookmarks and subs have made a difficult time so much more bearable.
> 
> 10-14-20: This chapter is so short! Holy crap! Not much changed, but there are minor changes.


	10. Humpty Dumpty

_Somewhere between time and realities_

“...Elizabeth.”

A remnant floating in the ether between realms spoke her name in greeting, a formless concept incapable of emoting. The space between realms was among the few things about the universe that she didn’t understand and she didn’t care to understand it. The only service it provided, currently, was answers.

Neither Elizabeth nor Igor understood what being had Ren trapped reliving the same year over and over again. She had come to the matter-less space between realms in her butterfly form in hopes of gaining some semblance of an answer. It took some time floating around in the oppressing, deep maroon atmosphere before finding her target. 

“Yaldabaoth.” She looked down on the disembodied former God of Control.

“Coming here was foolish,” A voice came from somewhere near the formless blob. “I have nothing you could want. I wish to rot in peace.”

Elizabeth would have given him a disapproving look, if she could. Sadly, her butterfly form prevented her from using typical facial cues. "You are to leave the Trickster alone."

"I am not responsible for he who is one with Satanael's plight," the blob spoke back. "I will not tell you who is. Think of it as a repayment, of sorts, for denying humanity's wishes."

Just Yaldabaoth’s existence in the ether gave Elizabeth the answers she needed. Whatever Ren was going through wasn’t brought on by the God of Control.

She'd have liked to give the forlorn god a piece of her mind, but exiting this world soon was in her best interest. It's properties were unknown to even those who resided in the Velvet Room.

===

_Wednesday, April 27, Evening_

Ren had a million ways he could have spent his Wednesday night but sadly none of them worked out. He tried to meet up with Hifumi Togo at the church but she wasn't there. That was frustrating. 112 years living through the same thing over and over again and he _still_ couldn't beat her at Shogi. She wouldn't have a single clue who he was anyway, so he guessed it wouldn't matter if she was there. There was a bigger chance that she'd call the cops on him for being a weirdo than there was for a meaningful interaction.

If he was being fair, he was kind of a massive weirdo at this point.

That night was surprisingly quiet. LeBlanc didn’t have any strange visitors. Nobody called Ren to an emergency and he fell asleep early enough that Morgana would be proud, were the avatar for humanity’s hope still living with him. 

He conked out, taking advantage of an early night before the proverbial other shoe could drop. He knew it was coming, and he was partially right, although it was less of a shoe dropping and more of one being gently placed on the floor next to him.

===

_Thursday, April 28, Early Morning_

A bell similar to LeBlanc’s rang but Ren realized he was the patron this time. A handsome blond white man was cleaning a glass behind the bar and Lavenza was sitting in front of the fireplace, looking as though she was contemplating something heavy while analyzing the flames. Igor sat at the bar with a glass of something dark brown in front of him; Ren imagined it being some absurdly expensive bourbon only available from a manufacturer in some other part of the world, except as far as he knew, Igor was limited to the Velvet Room. 

The man cleaning the glass looked up and gave Ren a friendly smile, but he didn’t speak. He was dressed in blue clothing similar to Lavenza, so Ren assumed he was another attendant. 

“Trickster, it’s good to see you again,” Igor’s bloodshot eyes stared through him. “Many things have changed since we last spoke.” He glanced at the blond man. “You’ve met another Wildcard, so it’s only fair you meet her attendant. This is Theodore.”

The man bowed. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

“It’s been good to see the attendants again,” Igor beamed, if that was possible. His eyes barely showed emotion. ‘Maybe I’m projecting,’ Ren thought. “I believe there is still one you’ve yet to meet; however, she is not yet ready to join your journey.”

Ren nodded. 

“You must first meet her Wildcard,” Igor explained. “Only then can she make herself a home in your Velvet Room.”

“How many Wildcards are there?” Ren asked but he didn’t expect an answer. "My Velvet Room?"

“The first question is an unanswerable question, I’m afraid,” Lavenza spoke up and Igor nodded. “There have been many Tricksters through the many years of human existence.”

“Ah.” Ren said. “So I’m not meeting all of them.”

“This may be hard for you to believe,” Igor started. “But even I haven’t met all of them. There exists a force greater than I that once introduced them to the world.”

Ren didn’t reply.

“But, that task has been since passed down to me, and in turn, my attendants.” Igor gave a chuckle. "As for the Velvet Room, the form it takes is a reflection of the state of your heart."

Ren gave Igor a confused expression. "My heart's reflection is a dive bar in Boston? Theodore does kind of look like Sam Malone..."

"It reflects comfort, Trickster," Lavenza said. "From what we know, you have been through much, but you take comfort in the sameness you face. Our hope, however, is this time will not be the same."

He really wanted to return to his sleep, but he was also confused at the idea that this time would be any different. "How will it change?"

"You know us well enough to know we won't answer that question," Lavenza said. "However, I look forward to watching you on your journey."

Theodore spoke for the first time. "It was important to Igor that we met as your bonds with a new Wildcard opened. My Wildcard can be a bit of a handful at times."

“Minako?” Ren directed his question at Igor, who nodded. “Sounds like her.”

===

_Friday, April 29, Evening_

Ren really didn’t want to show up early for dinner with Minako, Takeba and the Yoshizawas but he didn’t really have a choice: An actual, legitimate train accident prevented him from heading straight home from school and while reading in the library was nice, they kicked him out at 5 p.m. Given Minako and Takeba were staying on Aoyama, just blocks from the school, it made sense to stay there and just wait. But he couldn’t wait. He was really excited to get to know the twins better, and to get to know Minako better, and to find a way to talk to Takeba without having literal hearts burst out of his eye sockets.

He decided his best plan would be to text Minako to let her know he’d have to be early. Surely, she’d understand.

 **RA:** Hey, the train isn’t running. I stayed after school, can I just head to your place early?

 **MA:** Idc, let Takeba kno tho

 **MA:** (contact info: Yukari Takeba)

 **RA:** Thanks

Ren’s heart started racing and it took a lot of self control to not just scream at the top of his lungs in excitement. ‘Does getting Yukari Takeba’s phone number make this whole ordeal worth it?’

A small voice under his normal, rational psyche said ‘absolutely,’ and Ren went with it. Getting the phone number of anybody from Neo Feathermen would have been a notable life event right up there with the birth of a second child or a third marriage, but getting Yukari Takeba's phone number was like, uh, well, Ren wasn't sure he'd ever be happier than this again. His life had peaked.

 **RA:** Hi Takeba-san

 **RA:** Minako gave me your number. I hope that’s okay.

 **YT:** Ya thts fine.

 **YT:** wut’s up?

 **RA:** Trains aren’t running and I’m already in Aoyama. Care if I come over early?

 **YT:** Ya, cme on up. Im bored neway

 **RA:** Okay, see you in a minute.

Ren had already been sitting on a bench in the park across the street from their building; it was a fairly upscale apartment building, the penthouse of which belonging to the Kirijo Group and in turn, Minako and Yukari.

He walked in and greeted the doorman, who nodded in recognition and allowed Ren onto the elevator. He hit the button to go to the top floor; the 27th floor. Other than the SkyTree, he wasn’t used to being up that high in the real world. He anticipated having to knock on the door when he got off the elevator but that wasn’t necessary. The elevator led right into the penthouse apartment. 

It was a bright apartment, an open concept with a lot of natural light and a huge living space. There was a large TV mounted on the wall currently playing a news broadcast featuring a story Ren didn’t care about. Yukari sat on a large couch fiddling on her phone when she noticed Ren behind her.

“Oh, wow, you really were close by,” Takeba greeted. “It’s good to see you, though. Minako is really excited about tonight. I think she’s recruiting for the Phantom Thieves.”

Ren wanted to be surprised that Minako would do that; he also wanted to be mad. Instead, he embraced the chaos. He always wanted to throw caution to the wind and get rid of any semblance of secrecy. Now he had Minako to do that for him.

“Come on. Sit.” Yukari motioned and Ren plopped down on the couch with a good bit of space between them. 

Ren sighed. "Glad Minako's excited, I guess.” Takeba laughed. "One of us has to be."

“She’s got nothing better to do, so she’s your problem now.” She paused. “That sounded mean. It wasn’t supposed to sound mean,” she followed up, making a face Ren couldn’t read.

“I get it, though. I’m guessing ‘inability to sit still’ is a trait all the Wildcards sha-” Takeba interrupted him with a laugh.

“You’ve got no idea. Being a normal person around you people is exhausting. I still haven’t really recovered from the old days,” She gave a thoughtful look and changed the subject. “How’s Coach Stupei?”

Ren was caught off guard. “Who?”

“Oh, yeah. Iori, he’s a sub at your school,” she replied.

“Oh! He’s got a bit of a fan club already,” Ren thought about Shiho. “He seems like a good guy. The volleyball team has certainly taken to him.” Ren hadn’t ever remembered either team being so jovial.

“Yeah, he’s a good guy who is somehow also the worst,” Takeba let out a pained laugh. “He drives me nuts, but he’s got good intentions.”

‘Sounds like Ryuji,’ Ren thought. “Sounds like one of my friends from, uh, one of my past lives. Sorry, I’ll never get used to openly talking about that.” He could feel his stomach flip when he mentioned it. 

“I don’t think anyone expects you to,” she looked down at her lap. “All this, it’s starting to seem like the Dark Hour again. It takes years off your life.”

‘I don't know about that,’ Ren thought. 'I don't think most people live to be 112.' He’d been leaning forward while sitting on the couch for awhile but he slumped back. At least the couch was comfortable, a slight benefit that came from the now thoroughly demolished vibe.

“When am I going to get to hear your guys’ story?” Ren asked.

“Soon, I’m sure,” Takeba replied. “I think Minako wants everyone here. She can’t really talk about it alone. I don’t think I can either.”

The two made fairly mundane small talk until Minako and the twins entered the room through the elevator.

===

‘Okay, the ghost isn’t even hiding today,’ Sumire thought as they wrapped up their practice. Kasumi shared a similar thought. “It’s just there! Constantly!”

“It’s kind of menacing, right?” Sumire said in a hushed whisper. They were finishing up their practice with stretching, hopefully mitigating that soreness that came from an intense workout. “Like, it might set us on fire or something.” Kasumi nodded.

Minako must’ve been able to read minds; ‘A side effect of the ghost?’ Sumire and Kasumi both had the same thought at the same time.

“I know you guys can see Orpheus,” Minako interrupted their unspoken conversation. “I don’t know why he’s there either. You’ll get answers tonight.”

Kasumi was surprised to see acknowledgement. Sumire was less so. Minako noticed neither were working on their stretches any longer.

“Hey, Kasumi, what was it? ‘Oh please, just because you learned about Orpheus in class last week doesn’t mean he’ll just show up,’” The only person Sumire would ever tease like this was her sister.

Minako just started laughing, leading the Yoshizawas away from the practice building and towards her car. They left and headed towards Aoyama, where they'd finally get to the fun part of their day.

They entered the room with a nearly literal shit-ton of sushi. Like, what Ren assumed was enough to feed every person he’d ever met.

‘Well, we now know what happens when I assume,’ he thought, as he watched the twins and Minako eat more than he ever thought was possible. There wasn’t even time for conversation over dinner: Ren and Yukari (she demanded he call her by her first name after everyone got there) were too shocked at the competitive eating display in front of them, Minako was too busy stuffing her face, and the twins were also too busy stuffing their face while also being too polite to speak with their mouth full.

Minako certainly tried before Yukari yelled at her to swallow before she spoke. Minako swallowed, replied “That’s what she said” then went back to stuffing her face.

Yukari rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe she was our leader,” an exasperated sigh following the statement.

Minako gave a loud gulp. “Hey, I offered the spot to Junpei and you all vetoed,” Ren laughed. He liked Iori but he couldn’t imagine him leading an expedition into the Metaverse.

“You didn’t ‘offer the spot to Junpei,’ you literally told me that if I kept distracting your brother that you were leaving and Junpei was in charge,” Yukari said, then blushed. “We uh, we have this argument fairly often.”

A realization hit Ren. “Oh! You were with Minako’s brother!” Yukari nodded. Ren realized what that meant. “Oh. I’m, uh, I’m really sorry.” He realized that was probably a sore subject.

“See, Ren, that’s what I meant when I said you’re her type!” Minako, of course, took the time to make a joke.

“You did what!?” Yukari’s face was red with either rage or embarrassment, or some combination of both.

“It was a joke, Yukari, besides, I told him if he tried anything I’d veto.” Minako replied like she didn’t just embarrass her friend to death.

“Who gave you veto power over who I date?” To Ren, it seemed like Yukari was mostly playing it up for laughs, but the twins looked like they’d walked in on a domestic dispute. “And he’s 17! Do you really think I’d go after a 17-year-old!?”

“Are you going to be mad if I say yes?” Minako asked. 

Ren didn't feel like correcting Yukari. He was 16.

Takeba let out an exaggerated frustrated growl. “You’re obnoxious.”

“Shut up, you love me.”

“Only because I don’t have a choice.”

‘I’m really going to have to limit their exposure to Shiho,’ Ren thought. Ren cleared his throat. He'd looked around the room and noticed Sumire and Kasumi sharing concerned looks. “Mom? Da-I mean, I guess Mom? Stop fighting, you’re scaring the kids.” The twins laughed at that, perhaps realizing the situation wasn’t as serious as they thought. 

Everyone had finished eating by this point. The women had moved over to the couch; Ren sat in a separate easy chair off closer to the windows. 

Yukari was flipping channels, looking for something to watch but finding nothing while Minako fired off a million texts. Ren didn’t know if these texts were related to anything or not; her mind seemed to work a million miles per minute. He saw her as one of those people that’s just constantly bullshitting in the group chat.

It was Kasumi’s turn to clear her throat. “Does anyone care to explain why Coach is being followed by a ghost?” 

“Wait like an actual ghost?” Ren asked. He looked around the room. “I don’t see one.”

Yukari seemed confused as well. “Yeah, not really sure about a ghost.” The twins looked at each other. 

“We can both see it, though.” She pointed behind Minako at what Ren could now see was a faint outline of Orpheus, a Persona he’d only seen a couple times. 

Yukari squinted and discovered she could see an outline, as well. “Oh. Oh, oh wow, this isn’t great.”

Minako nodded. “Yeah. Not great. I still haven’t figured out if normal people can see it or if they’ve got potential. It’s kinda the reason I invited them over.”

“Potential?” The twins said in unison.

“Yeah, like, ah,” Minako looked at Ren. “Can I just tell them? They’re friends with you already anyway. We both know there are no coincidences with this stuff.”

“Uh,” Ren looked at the twins. “Neither of you are secretly planning to murder me, are you?”

Sumire was offended. “Senpai, I would never! How could you think that?” Kasumi picked up on the sarcasm a bit better.

“Sumire, I don’t think senpai actually thinks we’re going to kill him.” She said flatly.

Sumire’s cheeks reddened. “Oh. Well good.”

“Can we get back to the ghost, though?” Kasumi changed the subject back.

Minako looked at Ren. “Are we telling them or not?”

“Considering they’re already in the room, we’re having this conversation and they can see your Persona, I’m pretty sure we don’t have a choice,” Ren gave Minako a look. She really didn’t think this through.

“Okay, so,” Ren started. “You know all that Phantom Thieves stuff at school?” The twins nodded. “That was me. We discovered what Kamoshida was doing and did something about it. The method we used is harder to explain.” He looked at Minako. “I’m not sure how much she knows but a lot of what I know is self taught. I’m relying on her to correct me if I’m wrong about anything.” Minako nodded back. Ren explained the Metaverse, how it works and what Personas are. He didn’t go into the whole time traveler thing because everything else was so unbelievable, he didn’t want to overwhelm them. He hadn’t told all of the thieves about that yet anyway, so he figured it could wait. 

The process of changing hearts was new to everyone in the room except Ren, so he had to share more detail about that than the others. “Changing a heart rids the person of their distorted desires but it doesn’t rid them of their guilt. For Kamoshida, because we changed his heart, he was capable of feeling guilt for his actions and thus, he turned himself in. We don’t go after anyone who we already don’t know to be guilty and every decision has to be made unanimously.”

He finished his explanation and silence followed.

About a minute went by when Kasumi spoke up first. “Isn’t that, like, brainwashing?” 

Ren rubbed his chin. “Kind of, but I have a hard time feeling guilty about brainwashing a serial rapist.” He took a tone far more stern than either of the twins were used to. Minako and Yukari hadn’t seen it but they expected it; Minako was the same way when she needed to be.

Kasumi didn’t argue back; instead, she nodded. Sumire spoke up. “You could also view it as a form of therapy, though,” she looked at her sister. “His behavior before his change of heart was harmful to everyone, including himself. It’s kind of like rehabilitation.” Ren didn’t like the word choice, but he was impressed with Sumire. 

“Uh, I didn’t think of it that way. Regardless, it doesn’t really involve us,” Kasumi replied. “I still don’t know why you’re telling us this.”

Ren looked at Minako. “Yeah, Minako, why _are_ we telling them this?” His tone was challenging and Minako didn’t like it. She sat up straighter.

“You said it yourself that you need extra help,” she said. “They can see Personas in the real world, so they obviously have potential. Hell, they met and befriended you within a month of being at that school. That’s as much proof as anything.”

Ren sighed. “Minako, how much have I actually told you about how getting a Persona works for us?” Minako thought about it. He hadn’t told her much. Her and the rest of S.E.E.S. were all able to summon in the real world, without their evokers. She didn’t know anything about the Phantom Thieves summoning methods. 

“Don’t you guys have some kind of evoker?” Minako asked.

“I don’t even know what you mean by that,” Ren replied. “Every awakening I have seen has come from somebody who was completely defenseless and about to be beaten within an inch of their life.” He swore at himself. “I don’t want to see Sumire and Kasumi go through that, no matter how much they want to help.” He looked at the twins. “If they want to help.”

Sumire looked at her sister. She so desperately wanted to help, but she wasn’t sure how rational she was being right now. She’d heard her father mention ‘monkey brain’ when warning her and Kasumi about teenage boys; Sumire was pretty sure monkey brain was taking over. Her thoughts were a mish-mosh of ‘Ren is so cool’ and ‘god, that’s so dangerous’ and ‘I bet he looks great in his costume’ and ‘wow, all that power would be incredible.’

Kasumi was being more thoughtful about it. Sumire just wanted to shout “yes!” as soon as possible, but she wanted to hear Kasumi’s answer.

“Can I have a day to think about it?” Kasumi replied and Sumire’s heart sank. It helped, though, that Ren smiled and said “absolutely.”

“This isn’t a light decision and I implore you to think it through. It’s scary, but it’s extremely fulfilling,” Ren replied.

“Also killing shadows is literally the best training on the planet,” Minako added.

Kasumi thought, and looked at her sister.

“Alright, I’m in if Sumire is.”

Sumire was in shock. “I’m definitely in.”

Kasumi’s competitive nature made her decision for her, which made Sumire feel slightly better about letting her female monkey brain make hers.

“We’re still waiting for Kamoshida to make his confession,” Ren said. “We’ll work on getting you two to ‘wake up’ after that. Minako, you’re going to come with us to protect them. I don’t want them in any real danger. We’re going to have to figure this out. I’ve never done it this way.”

She nodded, more excited to see the Metaverse than anything else. “I can’t wait.” Minako thought that getting a couple evokers would be a good safety plan. 

The conversation lightened up quite a bit after that; an episode of Featherman R came on TV and for the first time all night, the twins realized they were sitting in the room with Pink Argus.

“You mean we’ve literally been here all night and not known that!?”

Takeba could only laugh.

===

_Saturday, April 30_

Today was the day for Suguru Kamoshida. The guilt had been eating away at him for weeks; no longer was he able to bear the weight of his crimes. He would confess in front of the entire school at an assembly he called. All he had to do was put on a face, act like he was back to the old Kamoshida. The Olympic Gold Medalist, the shining star of Shujin. Kobayakawa was thrilled to hear the confidence back in his voice. Lying, even to scum as low as Kobayakawa, hurt Suguru. He couldn’t even bear that weight. ‘Who am I to judge? I’m lower than the lowest criminal.’ 

Kamoshida had planned his suicide. He’d left a note on the nightstand next to his bed where he’d, embarrassingly, spent many nights alone. He bought a new rope online that had shipped in yesterday. The only reason he hadn’t used it yet was because he had to confess. 

Knowing he was going to atone, knowing his victims would get closure. That was the only thing that brought him any happiness. 

He’d thought long and hard about the last time he had been happy. Even when he was committing the most heinous of sexual assaults, he was never truly happy. It was all a means to fill a gap. It was his way of having control over his life. It was his way of feeling as powerful as a person as he did as an athlete. 

Introspection during the last couple weeks constantly led to uncontrollable sobbing. This occurrence was no different. 

Several hours later, Suguru’s alarm clock went off. He got in his car. He didn’t turn the radio on. He drove to the school in silence, knowing he was about to take his last steps through the doors of Shujin Academy. And, in a few hours, he was going to take his last breaths. 

He was going to ensure he got what he deserved.

===

Ren expected there to be an emergency assembly that day. ‘April 30, just two days ahead of time. Not bad,’ his first thoughts were when Kawakami had told the class of the school gathering. Kamoshida would confess today and the school would be whipped into a frenzy.

Ren’s class gathered near the back of the room but he pushed his way up to be near Akechi and Makoto, dragging Ann with him; Shiho found them soon after. Ryuji, Ren noticed, was standing near the emergency exit. Kobayakawa had waddled up onto the stage and was starting to speak, until the noise of double doors bursting open interrupted him.

Kamoshida looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks. His eyelids sagged over bloodshot eyes like staying open was more strength than he could muster. He pushed through the crowds of students, apologizing over and over to everyone he passed, “I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry,” on repeat. 

Kobayakawa attempted to keep the microphone away from him but Kamoshida hilariously shoved the principal to the ground; it surely would have gotten a laugh had the situation not been so outwardly strange. Ren had seen this before, of course, but he didn’t really have a clue as to what Kamoshida was going to confess to. Shiho was still alive, untouched. Ann had been sexually harassed but Ren arrived in time to get between the two. Ryuji didn’t seem to have a broken leg. Mishima had transferred. Ren realized that, for the first time, Kamoshida’s actions didn’t affect him directly. The only crime Kamoshida was guilty of was releasing Ren’s record, as far as Ren knew. Well, and picking a fight with Ren, only to get his ass thoroughly beat.

“I’ve got some things I need to tell everyone about,” Kamoshida spoke meekly into the microphone he’d snatched from the portly principal. “I know how prevalent some of the rumors at this school have been; the delinquent transfer student,” everyone looked at Ren, “Takamaki being ‘my girl,’” everyone looked at Ann, “the disappearance of a second-year last year,” meaning Mishima, Ren assumed. “Those are all rumors I started.” Kamoshida put a hand over his eyes, shielding the crowd from his tears. “But it’s worse than that.

“I assaulted Katsuo Suzuki last year,” Tears started flowing freely from his eyes. “And I harassed her and Kana until they transferred.” His shoulders somehow slumped further. “Their attempts to report me went nowhere.” He tried to stand up straighter but seemingly failed. He let out a loud sigh. He could be heard hyping himself up. “I have to do this, I just have to,” he said in a gruff voice, away from the microphone, but loud enough that those close could hear it.

“This goes further than me,” Kamoshida turns around and points at Kobayakawa. “Please, someone, call the police.” Nobody moved. “I know you kids have your phones. I don’t care right now. Nobody does. Sadayo; somebody, please.” Kawakami was in shock but she’d already pulled out her phone and called the police.

“Um,” Kawakami spoke up. “They’re on their way.”

“Thank you, Sadayo. Principal Kobayakawa and I have an appointment with the police.” Kamoshida smiled, something like an actual smile. Ren wasn’t sure Kamoshida was capable of a real smile, but at least this one didn’t look predatory. Kobayakawa had tried to flee the stage but Kamoshida caught his collar and dragged him back as the police entered the room. 

“We’re right here, officers,” Kamoshida said. “Both of us. There’s a greater conspiracy at hand. It’s my duty to expose it.”

===

Ren noticed Ryuji Sakamoto walking towards their group. The Phantom Thieves had met up near the gym’s exit before heading back to their class.

“Hey, man,” Ryuji looked at the ground. “I gotta know, he stared at you the whole time he was confessing. What did you do?”

Apparently Ryuji was a bit more perceptive this time. “I didn’t do anything,” Ren said, trying not to smirk. 

“Sure bud, this abusive asshole gets away with everything for years until you show up,” Sakamoto had more menace in his voice than Ren was used to. “He messes with you, and poof. He’s turning himself into the police.”

Ren didn’t say anything.

“You at least had to do with the calling cards,” Ryuji really figured that out quickly. 

“If you’re looking for a confession, you just got one from him,” Ren replied. “I didn’t do anything wrong. You’re barking up the wrong tree, buddy.”

Ryuji let out a frustrated grunt. “You’re effing weird, man.”

“Want to see how weird?”

“God damn it, dude.” Ryuji huffed and walked away. 

Ann was about to ask Ren what that was about when Kawakami pulled Ren by the ear into her empty classroom.

“What. Did. You. Do.” It wasn’t a question as much as it was an accusation.

“Why does everyone think I did this?” 

“Because you did it!” Kawakami shouted.

“Hey, can we not yell? I got enough rumors going on,” Ren tried to quiet the situation. He wanted to say ‘not the first time I’ve made you scream’ but he figured that was a bad joke to follow the gym teacher confessing to a rape.

“Amamiya. You showed up and convinced a serial abuser to confess within a month,” Kawakami spelled it out for him. “You are the common denominator. And now Kobayakawa is involved? And there’s a conspiracy? And Phantom Thieves?” She looked exasperated, like she hadn’t slept in awhile. “What the fuck even is this semester?” 

She obviously hadn’t meant to swear, but Ren couldn’t blame her. This was a very unusual situation and very stressful for everyone that wasn’t him. He knew he could trust Sadayo. He had before. But he had never told her what was happening before getting to know her better.

“Kawakami-sensei, I swear to you, I didn’t threaten him or anything. He confessed all his own.” Ren was being honest, or at least, as honest as he could be. “He’s guilty, he knows it, and now he’s preventing Kobayakawa from further endangering the students.”

She started rubbing her temples as she sat down behind her desk. “I’m going to hear the full story from you, some day.”

“I promise.” Ren replied.

He left the teacher’s classroom to meet with his friends and celebrate their first victory.

===

After hearing Kamoshida’s story, the police had no issue taking Kobayakawa in for child endangerment. The two got to share a police car, riding to the station in silence. Kamoshida hadn’t a care in the world. He made the split second decision against suicide once he got on stage, and realized only a coward would forego the justice system for their crimes. And he decided that enough dirt existed on Kobayakawa to take him down immediately. It was a plan that worked to perfection; Suguru always considered himself an expert strategist. Maybe not the most intelligent person, but who says every brilliant mind had to be smart? 

The two were carted into the police station in handcuffs and taken downstairs into an interrogation room, where they waited for an hour or two together. Kamoshida tried to hold conversation, but the principal only sobbed. 

Retribution was on its way.

===

One hour later, a man in black pants and a blue long-sleeved shirt entered the room holding a clipboard. 

“You’re here to confess to the crime of sexual assault of a minor?” The man asked. Kamoshida nodded. “Sign here.” Kamoshida took the pen and signed the paper held in front of him.

The man looked at Kobayakawa.

“You’re here to confess to child endangerment and attempted murder of a child, correct?” Kobayakawa looked shaken. He had no intention of confessing to either crime.

“I’m an innocent man, officer!” Kobayakawa pleaded. “This is a mistake! Suguru hasn’t been himself lately, I promise you, neither of us are guilty.”

The officer gave him a hard look. “You see, I know you’re guilty.

“Kamoshida was the one we didn’t know about. But you? We know all about you.” He pulled out a phone with a recording saved to it.

“Hello, I’d like to make a request. Makoto Niijima.” Kobayakawa heard his own voice say. 

“Kamoshida is doing time, but you?” He pulled out a gun and fired twice into Kobayakawa’s forehead. “You’re done.” Blood splattered from the wound and onto Kamoshida, who, had he been able to eat in the last week, would have surely thrown up. 

“Want to stay alive?” He looked at Kamoshida. Kamoshida nodded. 

“I must atone.”

“Then nobody hears of this.”

He left the gun at the scene. One would think it was planted on Kobayakawa.

But it wasn’t. The gun had a registered owner. 

The registered owner, according to a database that all firearms must run through in Japan, was Goro Akechi.

===

_Later that day…_

The Phantom Thieves met up on the school rooftop; their first mission was a success and Ren started laying out their Mementos missions. A bully named Takahashi, a stalker named Nakanohara, and a couple other smaller fish that he’d seen names of floating around on social media. He took the Thieves to Mementos, their first trip there in this timeline, and they had no trouble taking care of business. They got Madarame’s name from Nakanohara, as expected, and Takahashi mentioned a shakedown outfit setting up operations in Shibuya. It looked, to Ren, like the next two targets would be business as usual, which would allow him to focus on some of the bigger picture items that plagued his mind: the twins, Wakaba’s plan, how to convince Minako that she should let him date Yukari (okay, maybe not that last one). 

Ren was in fairly high spirits when he returned to LeBlanc. Tomorrow would be a much needed day off from school and a good opportunity to catch up with Akechi and Dr. Takemi. He’d been meaning to pay them a visit but, as usual for Ren, life got out of hand.

LeBlanc’s bell rang and he entered the cafe where Sojiro was, yet again, staring at a crossword puzzle. ‘I wonder if I’ll ever get the chance to just sit around and do a crossword puzzle,’ Ren thought. That would be nice. No conspiracies, no shadows, no evil gods, just some word puzzles that a newspaper includes in their daily dose of sadness.

A ‘breaking news’ banner on the television gave him the eerie feeling that he’d never get that chance. A plain and professional looking newsman was standing in front of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department where emergency services were escorting a very large, round man on a gurney out of the building. The cameras weren’t close enough for Ren to tell what was wrong, but the man was definitely Principal Kobayakawa.

“A shooting has occurred inside the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department,” the reporter relayed. “Not much yet is known other than it involved two men arrested at Shujin Academy earlier today.” The reporter was shoving his microphone in front of anyone that got near him but nobody could answer his questions. “We will be following this story in later broadcasts.” The news show went back to an anchor, who started the next story: A squirrel dressed up as a lifeguard swimming and collecting acorns. ‘That’s quite the contrast, guys,’ Ren thought.

Ren didn’t know what happened but he suspected the conspiracy ‘took care of’ the principal before he became a bigger problem, which means they’re probably more desperate this time than Ren is used to dealing with. 

**RA:** Kobayakawa is dead

 **RA:** Just on the news. Didn’t give a name but they caught the body leaving the building.

 **RA:** This is a problem.

 **FS:** we are so lucky this chat is encrypted

 **FS:** wait u didn’t kill him right

 **RA:** No! Wtf is wrong with you

 **FS:** Had to ask

 **AG:** Isn’t this just a coincidence?

 **RA:** I don’t believe in coincidences

 **RA:** I bet we get blamed

 **MN:** can we at least pretend to be sad?

 **RA:** right, sorry. I forget you guys aren’t used to people just up and dying.

 **RA:** my bad

 **SS:** well that’s just cryptic as shit

 **AT:** Ren’s messages, not the dying. Although that’s scary too. I’m sitting next to Shiho

 **SS:** we’re on a date

 **AT:** u can’t just say that shiho people talk

 **SS:** i know that’s why I said it

 **MN:** apparently we’re all desensitized.

 **MN:** always wanted to live out a mob movie.

 **GA:** why are we ignoring Kamoshida. He still alive?

 **RA:** who knows. Hopefully

 **GA:** i don’t like this

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 10 chapters and around 37k words is way more than I ever expected this to go. I had a blast writing this chapter.
> 
> Now that Kamoshida is mostly out of the way, I'll be heading into Madarame, which will be a bit of a tone shift. I'm not sure when that chapter will post, hopefully within the next few days. I have some small fluff things I'd like to see make it into the story as well, but those parts haven't been written yet. Much of the palace-related things are already done, and will be posted when I feel like I'm there.


	11. Crossroads, the Bar and the Cliché

_Saturday, April 30, Evening_

Ren quickly made a separate group chat.

 **Ren added Futaba, Makoto, Minako and Yukari** **to the group.**

 **RA:** This is separate because I haven’t talked to anyone else yet

 **RA:** Futaba I don’t have your mom’s number.

 **FS:** YOU REALLY DID KILL HIM?

 **RA:** God, no. I didn’t. But there’s a chance we get blamed.

 **MA:** Wait what

 **YT:** whod u kill

 **RA:** Nobody! 

**RA:** Shujin’s principal is dead.

 **MN:** Time travel stuff?

 **RA:** Big time. 

**YT:** O wut a mess

 **MA:** Ru being blamed?

 **RA:** Not yet. Want to meet tomorrow to explain.

 **MA:** Cool want coffee anyway

 **YT:** yea c u 2moro

 **RA:** a man died and you’re worried about coffee

 **MA:** yes.

 **FS:** Minako back off I want Sojiro for my mom

 **MN:** I miss not having friends

===

Ren’s guts were in his throat and his head throbbed. Extreme anxiety and the racing thoughts that came with it were leading to a debilitating migraine. He changed his clothes; it was a bit early for pajamas but he sweat through his day clothes and his best plan of action right now, he thought, would be to lay in his bed and focus on breathing before the anxiety attack got any worse. He left his phone across the room to avoid the temptation of calling someone. He wanted to limit the world’s exposure to his freakout.

He laid his head on the pillow, took a deep breath, and held it. He counted to five. He let out the breath. He waited two seconds. He took another deep breath, counted to five, and let out the breath. He did this many times until he felt his heart rate slow and his headache dissipate. 

‘Okay, here’s what I know. I know that Kobayakawa is dead and that Kamoshida is almost certainly alive. I know the conspiracy probably had Kobayakawa killed for being a liability. I don’t know if the conspiracy knows about the Phantom Thieves. That hinges on whether or not Kamoshida mentions us or not. Even if he does, they probably won’t connect the dots. There wasn’t anything official connecting me or any of the Thieves to him. Kobayakawa suspected the Thieves went to the school but we don’t know if he was looking to investigate on the conspiracy’s behalf or his own. He’s selfish enough that he might not have warned them.’ Ren let out a sigh.

‘We’re okay. I’m overreacting. It’s jarring and unexpected, but this doesn’t mean an end. Makoto was right, we should at least pretend to be sad. A man lost his life, that’s important even if I’m still not all too sure this stuff matters. I don’t even know how I’m going to escape the time loop.’

He hadn’t let himself think that in a couple weeks, but right now, he felt like he was right back in the hopeless situation he was used to.

His thoughts were interrupted when his phone rang. He expected it to be Makoto or Minako checking in on him but it wasn’t. He wouldn’t have answered for either of them; all he would do was worry them.

The phone’s screen read “Sumire” instead. ‘I have no reason not to answer, I suppose.’ He answered the call. 

“Hey,” he didn’t realize how raspy his voice would be when he spoke again.

“Hi, Ren, are you busy?”

Busy freaking out, but not busy doing anything, Ren thought. “Not particularly, I got back to LeBlanc a little bit ago.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful, do you care if I stop by? I’m in the neighborhood.” There was a certain cheer to her voice.

“Of course, you’ll get to try our coffee.” Ren’s voice had recovered but he hoped he didn’t still sound down in the dumps. Her cheer was infectious; he was already feeling a little better.

“See you soon, Senpai,” Sumire ended the phone call and Ren decided he should get downstairs. Sojiro might be closing up soon, so Ren would have to be downstairs to let Sumire in. 

===

Downstairs, Sojiro was humming a tune and washing up the dishes, seemingly getting ready to close up shop for the day. He kept washing dishes, but stopped his humming when he heard Ren approach. His attitude towards Ren warmed tremendously ever since that first day with Wakaba; while he knew this kid was up to no good, he trusted Wakaba and Wakaba trusted the kid.

And that was that.

Ren sat at the bar and grabbed a book off the shelf, a manga Futaba must have donated to LeBlanc for any kids stuck there. Ren had noticed a few younger couples with children in Yongen-Jaya were quite friendly with Boss and of course, the higher population of older people in the neighborhood had grandchildren running around. Ren hadn’t taken the time to notice these little things about Yongen-Jaya until recently; his surroundings started to feel more alive as his hope for escape returned. His optimism had waned earlier, but knowing Sumire was coming to visit lifted his spirits some. 

Ren’s feelings for the young red-haired girl were still a mystery. He knew he was happy the few instances they spent time together but he was worried about getting attached. Her attraction to him was obvious to everyone because she was a blusher. She couldn’t look at Ren without some color coming to her cheeks. It was getting better, though, Ren thought. She was much more self-assured at last night’s dinner. Minako was certainly a help in that regard. Ren couldn’t imagine a shell so thick that Minako couldn’t break it. 

“Hey kid, if you’re going to be down here, you shouldn’t be wearing your pajamas,” Sojiro broke Ren away from his thoughts. “You’ll scare the customers away.”

Ren nodded and went back upstairs. It was too early, he thought, to let Sumire see him in just comfy clothes. ‘There’s something vulnerable about wearing pajamas around someone,’ he mused. He returned downstairs and Sojiro was back behind the bar; a regular had come in a bit later than usual, the regular Sojiro couldn’t stand.

He was a pompous man in his 30s, seemingly incapable of holding a conversation without providing a backhanded compliment. His foot lived firmly in his mouth, although he’d never acknowledge it. 

“I heard there was a commotion at the police building earlier,” the man tried to gossip with Sojiro, knowing Sojiro refused to make time for it. “I guess there were a couple of gunshots.” The man huffed. “What is this country coming to, gun violence? Who do we think we are? America?” The man turned around and pointed a finger at Ren. “It’s your generation that caused all of this. You know what this country needs? That Shido, guy. He’ll steer this country back in the right direction.” 

Ren attempted not to laugh and was luckily able to keep a straight face. “Sorry, sir, I don’t pay much attention to politics.”

“But of course, why would the younger generation think about their future when they could just follow whatever the new trend is?” The man scoffed at Ren. “God, no wonder we’re doomed. The kids don’t even care. We really can only trust Shido. Do you know any politicians?”

Ren thought. “There’s that guy that speaks at the Crossing all the time. ‘No Good Tora,’ I think he called himself. He seems like a good man.” He got a nasty look from the near-stranger. “I know he’s got a checkered past but who doesn’t? I’d like to think I’ve reformed. I don’t see why he couldn’t have.”

Before the man could reply, Sojiro spoke up. “Alright, it was nice to see you, but you gotta get out of here, I’m closing up for the night.” The man nodded and started heading for the door, noticing a short red-haired girl standing there.

“They’re closing up,” he told the girl but she just nodded.

“I know, I’m here for my friend,” she looked in Ren’s direction. 

Ren ventured in their direction. “Hi, Yoshizawa-san, good to see you!” He gave the man a look and he gave a small wave and walked off. “Sumire, I’m glad you could make it,” he said after the man was far enough away. “Sorry, that guy was getting on my nerves and I didn’t want to risk him sticking around for more conversation.”

“That’s understandable, Senpai,” Sumire smiled. “Are you really closing?”

Ren nodded. “But Boss will be okay with us hanging out. He’s never minded before.” He led her over to the bar where Boss could see both of them. He had gone back to his dishes after his pompous regular gave up on harassing him and started harassing Ren.

“Boss, do you mind if I make Sumire a cup?” Ren must have broken him out of some deep thoughts.

“Oh, what?” He paused as if trying to process what Ren just asked. “Yeah, sure kid, go ahead. Just wash up after.” He then noticed Sumire. “Who’s the girl?” He gave Ren a sly look.

“This is Sumire Yoshizawa,” Ren said. “Sumire, this is Sojiro Sakura.”

Sumire bowed. “Nice to meet you, Sakura-san.”

Sojiro waved her off. “Oh, just call me Sojiro, or Boss. Everyone started calling me that awhile ago and it stuck.” He looked at Ren. “Although, you call me Boss. And Wakaba calls me Boss.” He paused for a second. “You know what? I’m not going to finish that thought. Have fun, you two, and Ren, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Sumire blushed and Ren laughed. “ _Goodnight_ , Sojiro.” 

“Goodnight, kid.” The bell chimed and Sojiro was out the door.

===

“Senpai, thank you for inviting me over,” Sumire said as Ren got to work making her coffee. 

“Anytime, Sumire. I’m glad you were able to be here.” Ren paused, unsure of how much to share. “I wasn’t having the best night. You called at the best time. I’m not sure I’d have picked up for anyone else.”

Sumire didn’t respond for a brief time. “Is it anything you’d like to talk about?”

Ren looked at her. “No, not necessarily. It’s something I’ll have to deal with in the morning. I think it’s just a lot of intrusive thoughts making it so I can’t think things through.” He sighed. “I’m more in need of a distraction, than anything else.”

“Well, Kasumi always tells me that I’m extremely distracting whenever we study together, so I guess that’s my speciality?” Sumire joked and Ren laughed. “I’m a clicker. If I can’t click my pen while I’m studying, I won’t retain anything. It drives her nuts.”

Ren let out a small ‘ha’ again. “I get that, my leg never stops shaking when I’m studying, Makoto thought there was an earthquake last time.” Ren shared the story, trying to remember if that was this timeline or a previous one. He hadn’t studied much in this timeline. ‘Oh well, I guess Makoto knows about the time travel so she can just play along if the time comes.’

“Next time you and Makoto study together, invite Kasumi and I and we can drive them nuts together!” Sumire started to giggle then thought further. “Actually, Makoto is kind of scary. Let’s not do that.”

“You don’t even know how scary, yet,” Ren replied. “She’s like, the coolest, though.” Sumire nodded.

“Are you talking about Persona stuff?” 

“Yeah. She looks like a scary biker chick and her Persona is a literal motorcycle that blows stuff up. It’s a sight to behold.”

“Niijima-senpai? A scary biker? I don’t believe you.”

“Well, hopefully you’ll get to see it soon,” Ren said. 

“Hopefully,” Sumire said. “The whole time Minako was talking about that stuff, something just felt right.” Sumire looked thoughtful, in Ren’s mind. She was holding her chin like the famous sculpture. “Like I was on the path to becoming more ‘myself.’”

Ren nodded. “That’s a good sign.” Also a confusing sign, Ren thought. Typically, that kind of thing didn’t occur until someone had actually been in the Metaverse. 

By then, Ren had finished making her coffee and he set the steaming mug in front of her. “Let me know what you think. I like to think I’m pretty good at this.”

Her eyes met his. “Is there anything you’re not good at?”

It was Ren’s turn to look thoughtful. “I’m terrible at staying out of trouble.” Sumire returned a laugh, stopped laughing, then laughed a bit harder.

“You’re absolutely right. I’ve known you for barely two weeks and you’re just constantly fighting something, or running away from something.” So, Sumire had noticed, Ren thought.

“You have no idea.” Ren thought about the situation he was potentially walking into Monday morning. He still didn’t know if the Phantom Thieves were going to get blamed for Kobayakawa’s death or not. They had nothing to do with it, he knew, but he also knew that wouldn’t much matter to the police.

“Senpai, this coffee is incredible,” Sumire beamed. “I’m not the biggest coffee drinker but I didn’t know it could be this good.” Ren smiled. 

“It’s what I’m best at,” he replied.

“I doubt that’s true, but you really are great at it,” Sumire replied with a grin that was a little different than Ren was used to. ‘Was there a challenge in her voice?’ “Senpai, can I ask you something?”

“Anything, Sumire.” 

“Would you go out with me? Like, on a date?” Sumire’s eyes weren’t quite full of fear, but an emotion Ren couldn’t quite pinpoint. Something between fear and excitement. 

“Sure, that sounds like it’d be fun,” Ren replied, his monkey-brain losing the fight with the rational-thinking part of his brain. 

"Yes!” Sumire celebrated a bit more loudly than she meant to. Then she blushed and looked away. “Uh, sorry, I just wasn’t sure that would work. I realized after Kasumi beat me to Souji that I had to be more up front.” She looked back at Ren. “But that worked out, because had I not run off crying, I’d have never bulldozed you!”

Ren laughed. “Yeah, and I still have the bruises to show for it!”

“Oh no, Senpai, you didn’t tell me you had bruises!” Sumire looked horrified.

“Sumire, I was kidding. The bruises healed fine.”

“But you did have bruises?” Her face matched her sister’s hair.

“Sumire, you hit like a truck, I don’t know why you’re surprised. It’s just one of your many charms.” Ren laughed it off. “Besides, I couldn’t do what I do if I was bothered by a few bruises.”

Ren had finished making his own cup of coffee and had joined Sumire on the customer side of the bar. “I’m so happy that you tackled me.”

The stools weren’t quite close enough for her to lean into him but she did put her head on his shoulder. The position wouldn’t have been comfortable in normal circumstances. ‘But these circumstances? Heaven,’ Ren thought. This was a terrible idea, he knew, but if he made it out with his life intact, he would have a life worth living. 

They stayed like that for a bit, quietly enjoying each other’s company before Ren got up to do the dishes and walk Sumire to the train station.

Tomorrow would be a long day, Ren thought, but night’s like tonight would make surviving this ordeal worth it.

===

Two rapid heartbeats.

They sounded like a knocking door in Minako’s ears but she knew them well. They terrified her that whole awful year; the child’s voice that usually came with it was just as terrified. She sat up, her room’s atmosphere a green fog. 

“The Dark Hour,” the child’s voice said aloud. “It has been a very long time, indeed.” Minako didn’t reply. “I have missed you. I once said that our friendship was a miracle never meant to occur. That remains true.”

“I… Ryoji… You’re here.”

“Yes, I am.” The two heartbeats again. “I am here because a new ordeal is once again upon you.” He appeared at the foot of Minako’s bed. This wasn’t the tall, attractive Ryoji she remembered. This was the small child, emblematic of Death.

“I mean, yes, there is a bit of an ordeal occurring right now.”

“This is not a warning,” the child replied. “I suppose you can see this more as a guide. My existence means the seal is leaking.” Minako gasped. “It also means your brother may again regain his life.”

“But that means Nyx could return.”

“Yes. That is the ordeal you must face.”

“I think I would face it to get Minato back.”

“I cannot advise that. But…”

“You know I’ll do it anyway.

“I was warned as such. I must be going. I wish I could say we wouldn’t meet again.” He had a solemn look on his face.

“I know this doesn’t mean much to you in this form,” Minako sighed. “But it’s good to see you again, Ryoji. I hope I can save everyone, this time.”

===

Sumire made it home just before midnight, completely wired from her night with Ren. It took some self control to not shout what she had done at Kasumi the second she saw her. When she entered the bedroom, Kasumi popped out her headphones and closed her book. 

“Sumire, where were you all night?” Kasumi inspected her sister’s face further. “And why can’t you stop smi-” she interrupted herself. “Oh, my god! You actually did it!” Kasumi grinned widely at her sister. “You actually asked him out!”

Sumire couldn’t get words out but the smile on her face spoke volumes. She nodded and her cheeks grew red again, because this was all new ground for her. 

Kasumi let out an excited shout that probably woke up their parents. “I’m so proud of you!” She said, impressed at her sister’s boldness. “Does this mean we can double date?”

Sumire was finally able to find her voice. “Uh, let’s get us through a first date before we make plans like that.” She paused. “But yes, I imagine we could do that.”

Sumire didn’t get much sleep that night. It was the best sleepless night she could ever imagine having. 

===

“Did that really just happen?” Sae asked the bartender at Crossroads.

“Sweetie, I’m surprised it doesn’t happen more,” Lala-chan, she said her name was, replied. Sae had headed to Crossroads at Makoto’s suggestion; She needed a night out, she thought.

It had been a long time since she allowed herself to be a typical human being and Makoto wanted the house to herself, for some reason. Sae didn’t ask, assuming it had something to do with the boy problems Makoto had mentioned. As long as they weren’t doing anything unbecoming, or anything that wouldn’t end in Sae becoming an aunt, she wasn’t bothered by it. She trusted Makoto.

A couple different men had approached Sae as she came in and luckily for her, neither of them seemed to be on the creepy side. She actually enjoyed the banter they had going but she really wasn’t looking for _that_ kind of night. She just wanted to knock a couple back and found Lala-chan to be good company. 

Even the journalist down the bar seemed to be good company, her and Lala-chan trading friendly barbs back and forth. Ichiko Ohya, she called herself. Sae made sure to not get too close, though. Journalists made bad friends for prosecutors, although Sae found that line of thinking to be fairly disgusting. Also fairly disgusting was Ohya-san’s body odor. She was sweating whiskey, Evan Williams, if Sae had to guess. She had a half-American roommate in college that lived off the stuff. ‘I wonder what happened to Hannah? I haven’t talked to her in a few years,’ Sae thought.

“I’m just not used to that kind of attention, and I’m really not dressed for it,” Sae told the bartender. She’d come straight from work knowing she had the next day off, so she was in her black dress pants and black turtleneck. It wasn’t exactly ‘woman on the prowl’ clothing.

“You don’t need to be dressed for it,” Ohya said a little too loudly. “You’d be fighting them off even if you were wearing a potato sack.” Sae laughed at that. “Or you could dress like the drummer for a 90s angry chick band like me.” Lala-chan gave a deep laugh at that. 

“Ha, Ohya must think she made a friend, she’s normally too arrogant for her own good,” Lala told Sae, quietly enough that Ohya didn’t hear. 

Sae knew she needed to get home soon; it was getting later and the trains would stop running soon. She paid her tab but as she was leaving Ohya grabbed her arm.

“Hey, here’s my card,” she handed Sae a card with her office and cell phone numbers on it. “Call me, business or fun, take your pick. It’s nice to have a drinking buddy that isn’t just trying to party.” 

“For sure. I’m sure I’ll see you again.” She smiled. “Goodnight Ohya-san, Lala-chan.”

Exiting the bar into the Shinjuku nightlife was going to be an ordeal, Sae knew. The hosts were out in droves every night but Saturday night in Shinjuku was a different beast entirely. Luckily, the police presence helped deaden the assaulters of the district but there were still predators Sae knew to be weary of.

One, in particular, could be seen about 10 feet behind her, a little off to her right. Sae had him marked the second she left Crossroads. He was wearing a white suit with a purple dress shirt, and had light brown hair. He was out front of the maid cafe waiting for someone to follow home; at least that’s how Sae saw it. 

Satoshi Sugimura had seen her enter Crossroads knowing what her career was and wanting to knock her down a few pegs. The prosecutor’s office had given him plenty of trouble. Sae had no idea the man following her was someone she’d tried to put behind bars for multiple drunk driving incidents. The last incident was one where he robbed two young children of their mother, drunkenly driving into a crosswalk at three in the afternoon. The guy had family connections, and got off with a suspended license and a court-appointed driver. Had she known that was the man following her, she probably would have confronted him immediately. But she hadn’t known.

She also didn’t know that her assailant had a knife.

What her assailant didn’t know was that the prosecutor he was seeking revenge on was a master in self defense.

Sae reached the station when she decided to confront the man in clear sight of a manned police kiosk. 

“You’ve been following me for the last several blocks, what do you want?”

“Miss Niijima, do you remember me?” He grinned menacingly. Sae was stonefaced.

“Yes. I do.” Sae said. 

“Did you know you ruined my life?” Sugimura claimed. In reality, he got a lecture from his dad, and now he didn’t have to drive anymore.

“I remember that mother you killed, if that’s what you mean,” Sae showed no frustration. She just wanted to get home.

The man grunted. “It was all a misunderstanding,” he replied. “Had you not meddled, everything would have worked out.”

“I… uh.” Sae was normally a no-nonsense kind of person but this was a level of stupidity she wasn’t prepared to face that night. She hoped his knife was sharper than his wit. Getting cut with a dull knife hurt.

He brandished the weapon in his left and lunged towards Sae, who slipped her right arm above his bicep and her left below his forearm, jabbing it upwards, a satisfying snap following the movement. A cry of pain followed the snap, the knife clattering to the floor. 

“You really, really, didn’t think that through at all.” Sae said, the confrontation having drawn police attention. “Officers, this man attacked me. I’m sure there’s camera footage.” 

The officers weren’t quick to take action, instead looking at Sae like she assaulted the man unwarranted. They must have recognized the kid and Sae knew his charges wouldn’t go anywhere. He was well connected to a powerful politician.

The officers made a move towards Sae, more quickly when she reached into her pocket and pulled out a business card. “I know the guy, he’s well connected so you won’t do anything.” She sighed. “I have my own connections. I’m a prosecutor with the SIU. It might be in your interest to let this go. You _should_ arrest this man. If you don’t, I’ve got your badge numbers.” The train pulled into the station and Sae went to get on it. “Maybe do the right thing for a change.”

The officers stared at her, stunned. ‘God, to think I was like these assholes,’ Sae thought. ‘Jesus, I was nearly murdered.’ And then a final thought. ‘Holy fuck, that was a rush. I kind of want to do it again.’ 

Dangerous thoughts for a prosecutor who hoped to have a long career.

===

Sugimura was receiving first aid in the police kiosk when he realized what just happened. He got his ass handed to him by a woman and his first thought wasn’t rage. “Holy fuck, that was insane,” he said out loud. One of the cops nodded. ‘And kind of hot.’ That was a thought he wasn’t completely comfortable with. “Oh, I need to call my fiancee, do either of you have my phone?”

One of the cops handed it to him and Sugimura scrolled through his contacts, selecting the name Haru Okumara.

“Babe, what are you up to right now?”

A sleepy-voiced Haru could be heard through the phone’s speaker. “‘M sleepy,” was her reply. Rin wasn’t in the mood for her to be sleepy.

“Well, wake up right now,” he demanded. “What are you wearing?” 

Haru wasn’t too sleepy to be disgusted. She hung up.

“Fucking bitch.” ‘That’s kind of hot too, though.’ ‘Fuck, what is wrong with me?’

===

Sae made it the rest of the way home with no issue. Makoto was asleep on the couch when she walked in a few minutes after midnight, a movie Sae remembered Makoto begging her to see when she was younger playing on the TV; Trial of the Dragon, or something or other. It was something along those lines. 

A few drinks had helped loosen Sae up but the confrontation with Sugimura brought her back to sobriety quickly and back to her lunch with the Detective Prince. It didn’t go poorly, in Sae’s mind, but it was still a lot to take in. A lot of it needed to be shared with Makoto. Sae already felt guilty enough waiting a couple days to bring it up. It was all just so strange to her. There was more Shirogane wasn’t saying, Sae could feel it.

===

_Earlier, at lunchtime on Thursday_

Sae met the Detective Prince at a small, trendy coffee shop down the street. There was a diner closer to the governmental complex that Sae preferred, but they both agreed it would make sense to meet somewhere more separate from work. The diner was a popular lunch location for the city’s law enforcement. They’d have just as little privacy there as they would in Sae’s office.

The cup of coffee was much needed and surprisingly good but the food selection was mostly baked goods and salty snack foods; it was more of a quick-stop kind of place with outdoor seating. Sae planted herself at one of the patio tables and watched pedestrians stroll by. There weren’t many; this part of the city would mostly be salarymen and clerical workers with the occasional student from a nearby high school. She had been lost somewhere between deep thought and thinking she recognized somebody when she was broken out of that state by an approaching Naoto Shirogane.

“Good afternoon, Niijima-san,” Shirogane had a friendly smile, not one of somebody about to blackmail a prosecutor. ‘A good sign,’ Sae thought.

“Hello, Shirogane-san,” Sae returned a friendly smile. “We don’t have much in the way of time.”

“No, no we don’t,” the detective replied. “Less than you’d think.” She had already gotten her coffee, no food, and sat down across from Sae. “I noticed that file you’d retrieved was from a case I have a particular interest in.” 

“Yes. It’s the file from my father’s death,” Sae said with surprising ease. She normally couldn’t speak of his death without at least her stomach doing a flip. 

“I didn’t realize that until I’d gone into your office and saw your nameplate,” Shirogane then apologized. “I’m sorry that was our first interaction. I try to at least introduce myself to people when I get here but I’ve been busier than usual.”

Sae nodded. “Surprisingly, I’ve been less busy.”

“I’ve noticed that, too,” Naoto’s expression took a darker tone. “There’s a reason your workload has lightened, I’m afraid. The SIU is full of snakes.” Sae gasped even though it wasn’t anything she didn’t already know. It was still shocking to hear it said out loud. “There’s no shame in looking into your father’s case, but I implore you to not do it at the office.”

Sae nodded, truly thankful for the warning. “I’m going to take this file home and make copies, then I’m going to return it tomorrow,” but Naoto shook her head. 

“No, let me make copies and I’ll return it. I’ve got a bad feeling they’ll notice that you’re looking into the mental shutdowns.”

“Wait, what’s that got to do with anything?” Sae had asked but received no answer. “Are you saying my father’s was a mental shutdown incident?” Shirogane nodded slowly.

“I’m almost sure of it. I have a very powerful friend who’s on the opposite side of the man that ordered the killing,” Shirogane relayed. “The SIU isn’t a safe place for you.”

Sae knew that to be true, but she didn’t want it to be. “I can take care of myself, I’m not helpless.”

“I’m not saying you are. I’m saying that what they can do to you isn’t something you can protect yourself from.” 

“That’s far too cryptic.” Sae was getting frustrated.

“I know. But, my advice? Start looking for a better job.” Naoto looked around. “We need to get going, lunchtime is over.”

“Let’s talk again. I have more questions.”

“We can talk again on Sunday.” The Detective Prince said, and started heading back towards the station.

===

Sae had sat down on the couch in the spot left empty near Makoto’s feet to reflect, becoming so lost in thought that she didn’t notice Makoto waking up.

“Sis?” Makoto partially sat up and noticed the serious look on her sister’s face. “Is everything okay?”

Sae jumped. “Oh, no Makoto, sorry, I was just thinking about something that happened at work.” 

“Is everything okay at work?” Makoto repeated the question, albeit slightly differently. Sae thought; now might be the best time to talk to Makoto about what Shirogane told her.

“No. It’s not okay,” Sae replied truthfully. “I’m going to be looking for a new job soon.”

Makoto was shocked. Being a prosecutor was her sister’s dream ever since she was a child. Working in law enforcement was everything she had worked for. “Sis, are you sure?”

“Yes, I don’t think I’ve ever been more sure,” Sae replied with a grim look at her sister. “I found something out a couple days ago. I think you should know.” Makoto nodded, as if telling her to keep going. “This isn’t the best time to tell you, and it’s not easy.” Sae half expected her sister to shout ‘out with it!’ “A new detective was looking into the mental shutdown cases. She thinks dad was a victim.” Silence followed.

“No…” Both sisters were attempting not to cry but they broke down almost simultaneously. It had taken them a long time to mourn their father and here they were again, holding each other and trying not to completely fall apart. Neither of them slept that night.

Unbeknownst to each other, they were both planning for some form for revenge. Makoto wondered if she should tell Sae about the Phantom Thieves.

‘The meeting tomorrow morning,’ she thought. ‘I’ll bring it up then.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was too sick to work today but not too sick to get the next chapter ready a day ahead of time. God, my head really hurts. 
> 
> Ya know, it's kind of funny, because I'm not a shipper and I had no plans of going with Ren/Sumire but it just fit the direction I wanted for this story SO WELL. I'm not going to tag it yet because I feel like it's a spoiler. I'll tag it once I get to the point where it's a minor road bump.
> 
> Things are escalating. I know Ryoji or whatever you would like to call the kid existing doesn't exactly fit into the canon, but I've tossed the canon for Persona 5 aside too much for me to justify not doing the same thing for Persona 3. I think it's heading in a direction Persona 3 fans will like. 
> 
> Also, Sugimura is going to be very fun to write. I've got my own take on him that's going to be equal parts disgusting and entertaining, hopefully. 
> 
> Thanks for reading :)


	12. Chrysalis

_Sunday, May 1st, Morning_

Ren awoke with the startling realization that he no longer wanted to die. He’d come to this realization a few times now, but last night’s encounter with Sumire sealed it. He never knew what his dreams would consist of when he closed his eyes for the night; it was often a toss-up between something horribly traumatic or a visit to the Velvet Room. Last night’s dream had nothing to do with either. He didn’t have to see anyone die, he didn’t have to relive his cognitive self getting shot in the head and he didn’t have to relive his last encounter with the false god again. Instead, he had a sweet dream of him and Sumire at the Yongen-Jaya batting cages. She was talking about some kind of slump but Ren couldn’t see it, and argued with her. “We both have very different definitions of a slump, Kasumi,” he said.

‘Weird,’ Ren thought. ‘Why’d I call her Kasumi?’ He shook it off. Sometimes, a dream could just be a dream, and that’s all that one was. His memory of it was slightly hazier than his memories of the Velvet Room usually were, so if it was some sort of ethereal warning, it must not have been a very good one. 

Reflections on his dream aside, Ren left his bed and changed his clothes. Sundays meant no school uniform, which meant he should probably get laundry done at some point. He threw on a pair of jeans and a white collared shirt. Slightly brighter outlook on life or not, he had a meeting scheduled this morning. He still had no idea if the police were going to try and blame the Phantom Thieves for Kobayakawa’s death but he wanted to have a plan just in case. He went downstairs to find LeBlanc empty of everyone except Sojiro, who was quick to put him to work. It was Ren’s time to learn how to make curry, even though he already knew. There was no arguing with Sojiro.

Ren had nothing to do until everyone got to LeBlanc, anyway.

===

Ren’s hands looked and felt like prunes after he finished Sojiro’s dishes from the morning and there was sure to be more to come later. ‘I’ll have to make sure I find something to get me out of LeBlanc later,’ Ren thought to himself. Cracked skin is no joke.

A jingling bell distracted Ren from the plight of the pruney fingers. He dried his hands and told Sojiro his company was here. Futaba and Morgana had reached the cafe first. Morgana quickly climbed up on a barstool. 

“I demand coffee!” He shouted at Ren. Sojiro laughed at the indignant cat sitting on the barstool like a human.

“I am not giving you coffee,” Ren said. “You’re the last creature alive that needs coffee.”

“I’ll tell Sojiro to take you back to the shelter,” Morgana replied and Futaba chuckled.

“That cat really never quiets down, does he?” Sojiro said, still not able to understand the black-furred creature that definitely wasn’t a cat. 

Wakaba had entered the cafe to find Sojiro scratching Morgana’s chin while Ren and Futaba argued about Featherman. She took a seat in a booth and Ren broke away from his conversation with Futaba to join her. Futaba slid into the seat next to her mother and Morgana climbed onto her lap. Minako and Yukari hadn’t shown up yet. Ren and Wakaba both checked their phones to discover neither of them had any messages waiting, but it wasn’t quite late enough to be worried. 

They made small talk as Sojiro served other customers.

“So, you haven’t been here all that long,” Wakaba stated. It wasn’t a question. “I mean, technically. I’m sure you know what to expect from Sojiro by now.” She furrowed her brow. “Sorry, what I’m getting at, is how is Sojiro handling you being here?” The unspoken question hanging in the air was ‘does he know about the time travel?’ 

Ren shook his head. “No, and I don’t think he’d want to know.” Wakaba gave a soft laugh. 

“I don’t think he understands how plausible deniability works,” She said. “He keeps saying he doesn’t want to know, like there’s not some crazy conspiracy being planned in his cafe.” 

“Excuse you, we’re the counter-conspiracy,” Ren had a serious look on his face for a couple seconds before laughing. “It feels weird saying that.” ‘Fighting like it matters feels weird.’ That part didn’t get said out loud. 

“Right, right, I forget,” Wakaba joked. Ren was pretty sure she wasn’t capable of forgetting anything. “We should find a better name for that.”

Ren deadpanned. “Uh. We did.”

“Oh. Right. Yeah.” Wakaba thought for a second. “Shadow Operatives is a better name.”

“Yeah, if we want to draw attention but Phantom Thieves? We sound like a group of children. It’s perfect.” ‘Well, not children, but it definitely sounds edgier than any professional would come up with.

“Well, you guys _are_ children, so it makes sense. Although, I guess you’re older than me.”

‘Huh.’ Ren thought for a second. That’s pretty confusing. “Wait, does this mean I get the senior discount? Can you talk to Sojiro for me?”

Wakaba just shook her head, and the bell chimed, Yukari entering the room trailed by a dead-on-her-feet Minako. She looked like she hadn’t slept at all and from what Ren could tell, a tired Minako was basically a toddler. Her walk was somewhere between a waddle and a trudge. She was short enough that Yukari probably could have carried her, but Ren had to stop those sorts of thoughts.

“Sorry we’re late,” Yukari looked at Minako, then spoke in a mocking voice. “ _Mina-chan had a nightmare_ ,” then she laughed.

“That’s not nice!” Minako whined. “It was a really bad one.”

“Well, it must not be that bad, or else you’d have shared it,” Yukari shot back. 

Minako looked like she wanted to retort but she stopped herself. “I’m sorry. I can’t share it right now. But I will.” Ren had never seen her down before. She normally radiated extreme positive energy but right now, she was practically a black hole. They had scooted into Ren’s side of the booth, Minako sitting closest to him. Ren wasn’t sure if she’d meant to lean on him but he wasn’t going to push her off. She was obviously distressed. If he could provide the comfort for someone else that Sumire provided for him last night, he would.

Platonically, of course.

She lifted her head back up and started talking. “Well, anyway, we’re here for Ren’s problem, not mine. What’s up?” Her voice held the slight rasp of someone who hadn’t slept all night. She was trying to be her normal self but everyone could tell something was off.

“First,” Ren started, “Is your problem something we can help with?”

“Maybe. But not right now. If you’re going to push it, I’ll tell you later.” She huffed. “Now why the fuck are we here?” Ren winced. She was the last person he ever expected to see this grumpy. “Sorry… sorry.” Yukari had whispered something to her before she apologized but Ren couldn’t quite make it out. “I had a bad night. It’s worse than I’m letting on. There’s also some good news with it, though.” Ren nodded. 

“We can get to that first, if you’d like.” She shook her head.

“No, let’s talk about what we’re here for. We can burn that bridge when we get to it.” Yukari looked at Minako.

“Minako, the term is ‘cross that brid-’” Minako interrupted Yukari.

“I know what I said,” Minako spat. “Now, no more delays. What’s going on?”

Ren started explaining. “So, Principal Kobayakawa passed away yesterday. I’m not going to explain the time traveling stuff again, but in every timeline he dies. In every timeline, the Phantom Thieves get blamed. That always sucks, but what usually helps is I can discern what the police know about the Thieves but this time there’s no real trail that connects to us.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “That means, they just offed the guy potentially having no idea about the Phantom Thieves. They announced one casualty, so I can assume Kamoshida is still alive. I don’t think he knows our identities. But I’m freaking out.” Ren wasn’t sure why. When he laid it out that way, it sure seemed like there was nothing connecting the Thieves to the death of the principal. “I may be freaking out over nothing. There’s no discernable link between us but that doesn’t always matter when it comes to the police. If the wrong person finds out about us, we’re all going away.”

Wakaba shook her head. “From what I’ve gathered, they don’t have any idea. Takuto is still on the inside. I trust him to tell the truth.”

“That’s reassuring. Also reassuring is the fact that this was a regular, run-of-the-mill murder,” Ren said. “But now I feel responsible, like it’s up to the Phantom Thieves to solve this on top of everything else.”

That got an honest-to-god laugh out of Minako. “Wouldn’t be the first murder a Wildcard had to solve.” Yukari laughed, too. 

“Oh, man, we need to get Yu and Yosuke here to tell that story.”

“Isn’t Yu already in Tokyo? Why haven’t we reached out?” Minako’s spirits lifted. 

“Okay, okay, wait, who’s Yu?” 

“Well, I’m Mina-” she got interrupted.

“Minako, we are _not_ doing that joke again,” Yukari pouted. “God, you’re worse than Stupei.”

“Should I call Coach Iori Stupei at school?” Yukari’s eyes lit up.

“Yes. Yes you should, and if you get in trouble, call him Ace Defective. Do you want a list of mean things to call him? I’ve got years of practice.” Yukari was getting very into insulting the newest member of Shujin Academy’s faculty. Minako’s spirits seemed to have risen from the banter, and Ren even felt better. They may not have had a plan but he had people he could count on. 

‘Adults I can count on,’ he made the correction in his head. It’s the first time he can remember that occurring. 

They continued the less important discussion after that, forgetting about Minako’s dilemma for a while. She still had bags under her eyes but she was acting much more like her old self, until the bell chimed and in walked two women, a shorter woman in blue jeans and a dress shirt similar to Ren’s and a really tall woman with red eyes, like Makoto’s, and dark silver-ish grey hair. It wasn’t grey in an old-person way, though. Ren struggled to come up with a name for the color. 

The woman in the dress shirt’s eyes lit up when she saw Minako and Yukari sitting in the booth.

“I’d mention a coincidence, but I don’t think any of us believe in those,” she said to Minako. Minako shook her head.

“Ren, this is Naoto Shirogane,” Minako introduced the two. “Sorry, I don’t know her friend.”

“Sae Niijima,” the tall woman spoke up. “Did you say ‘Ren?’”

“That’s me, ma’am,” Ren spoke up. He wasn’t about to give Sae lip, considering his past encounters. 

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Makoto has told me a lot,” she had a friendly smile Ren wasn’t used to seeing. ‘Well, this is a new one. A really new one. What.’

“Nice to meet you as well, Niijima-san,” Ren shook her hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you, too.”

“I can’t imagine it’s all good,” she laughed. “Makoto and I weren’t exactly on good terms until recently. Hopefully she didn’t make me out to be too much of a monster.”

“Well, you did break Sugimura’s arm last night,” Shirogane cut in and Ren busted out laughing. 

“Thank you, Naoto, for telling several complete strangers that, the first time I meet them.” Sae sounded, but didn’t look, mad.

“Well, we should get our own seat, it seems like you guys were on important business,” Naoto said. 

“Actually, Naoto, we’ve got a couple things you might be able to help with, if you two aren’t busy.” Minako looked at Ren. “You should call your friends. I think they should hear all this, too.”

“God, they’re really going to kill me with all these impromptu meetings,” Ren said, then thought ‘ha, bet they can’t.’

===

 **RA:** Makoto’s sister is hot

 **GA:** No comment

 **FS:** Extremely

 **FS:** Dibs

 **MN:** Futaba you aren’t gay

 **FS:** Yea Shiho would get mad at me for stealing her gimmick

 **SS:** FUTABA

 **SS:** That’s not true!

 **FS:** annshiho.jpg

 **FS:** I commissioned artwork of you and Ann

 **AT:** Oh. I want to be mad, but that’s quite good.

 **SS:** Can we vote Futaba off the island

 **MN:** frankly I’m just glad the topic is off my hot sister

 **RA:** SHE CONFESSES

 **MN:** you guys are gross

 **MN:** I miss not having friends.

 **RA:** O yea, meeting at LeBlanc. Get here ASAP

 **RA:** more life changing bullshit, probably. 

**MN:** is that sarcasm

 **RA:** both sarcastic and serious

 **RA:** Minako looked like she had a long night. She was barely the life of the party today.

 **FS:** Seriously, we should probably help with whatever it is.

 **AT:** Futaba who did that drawing

 **FS:** I’ll dm u

===

 **RA:** Are you okay?

 **FS:** Yeah, why?

 **RA:** You didn’t speak literally that whole time.

 **FS:** Neither did mom

 **RA:** Yea but she does that sometimes.

 **FS:** I don’t handle trauma well

 **FS:** I didn’t want to upset Minako.

 **RA:** Understandable. We’ll get you over that.

 **FS:** I’m fine with that roadblock.

‘I just had a whole conversation over text with a person sitting next to me,’ Ren thought. ‘I’m officially a zoomer.’

===

_LeBlanc Cafe, Sunday afternoon_

Everyone packed into the LeBlanc attic because Sojiro had gotten a surprising rush of customers; it was the first time Ren had ever seen more than three customers in LeBlanc. 

“Well, if we ever want to do this again, I suggest we rent out an auditorium,” Ren joked to whoever was listening. 

“I could run that by Kirijo, she probably has a hideout somewhere around here,” Minako said. “Or we could just use the apartment. It’s bigger than the attic.”

Yukari nodded. “Yeah, and maybe Minako will start cleaning up after herself if people come over.”

“I didn’t come here asking to be judged,” Minako pouted.

“No, that’s Sae’s job,” Ren said out loud. Everyone stared at him while Minako busted out laughing.

“There are like, 11 beings in existence that would find that funny, and seven of them I’m pretty sure aren’t capable of laughter,” Minako said. 

“God, I really don’t feel like explaining any of this,” Ren replied. “But, um, should we really be having this conversation with Sae-san here?”

Naoto spoke up. “Well, I was going to tell her anyway. I’d like to think there’s a better chance of her believing me if we have proof to show her.” 

“We really need better communications among the Shadow Ops,” Yukari grumbled. 

Minako followed up with “No shit.” She wasn’t too thrilled that Naoto had been recruiting, but she knew she hadn’t had much room to talk, given the situation she’d put Ren in with Sumire and Kasumi.

“Wait, what’s going on? And why is my sister here?” Sae looked around the room. “Does Ren only associate with beautiful women?”

Akechi laughed. “Thanks, I always thought I’d make a beautiful bride some day.”

“I’ll get my artist on it!” Futaba shouted before pulling her phone out and texting like a madman. 

Sae’s cheeks gained some color and then she looked around the room again, shock apparent on her face. “Why is there a ghost behind Arisato-san?!”

“Seriously, this whole ‘no coincidences’ thing is supposed to be a cliche, dammit,” Minako said. She wasn’t frustrated but she was too tired for all these explanations.

Wakaba rubbed her temples. “How do you ever get anything done?”

“Centuries of practice,” Ren replied. 

Minako cleared her throat. “Okay, so what’s first? Do we start with my situation, or yours?”

“I’d prefer yours,” Ren said. 

“You were supposed to say, ‘I’ll go first,’ jerk,” Minako whined.

“Sorry, Minako gets whiny when she’s tired, she didn’t sleep well last night,” Yukari said, earning her a death glare from her friend.

“Anyway, I had a nightmare last night. Not unusual, really, I’ve been having some crazy ones ever since we saved the world like, 8 years ago. I always chalked it up to PTSD.” Minako yawned. “Sorry, I’m probably going to leave and pass out for like, 3 days after this.” She tried to find her resolve. “So, the Dark Hour occurred last night. I think.” Yukari gasped and Minako glanced at her. “I know. The room turned green, the moon looked weird; it was exactly as I remember. And Ryoji was there,” another gasp from Yukari. “He was back as a little kid, though. He warned me of a coming ordeal. Apparently, the seal holding Nyx back is leaking.”

Nobody besides Yukari had any idea what that meant. Ren spoke up and asked what it meant.

“It means a couple different things. We’re probably going to have another fight coming to us.” She looked around the room. “Considering the last time we fought Nyx, we won, kind of, I’m not too worried about losing the fight. We’ve got more manpower this time.” Tears started forming in the corners of her eyes and she choked back a sob. “But Nyx doesn’t just go away when you beat her. There’s a chance we’ll need another seal.”

“And that requires a soul.” Ren nodded. “Also, what’s the Dark Hour?”

Minako let out a frustrated grunt. Ren’s question got ignored.

“Yes. And if this seal is leaking, it means my brother might be alive,” Yukari, surprisingly, started crying first. She’d gotten near Minako and put an arm around her. “We might be able to save him. But I don’t know if that’s possible without destroying the world.”

Ren looked around. ‘This is where I come in, I guess.’

“I don’t have much to do with their story, but I can provide some context as to what’s happened in this timeline. I think it’s also important for everyone to know that if I die in the meantime, that will give me another shot. I’m assuming the year will loop again. However, all of you will die, and I’ll again be introduced to the same people, but different. They won’t remember me.” He looked at Futaba. “Futaba, this story may be particularly difficult for you to stomach. I wanted to speak to you privately about it, but I never got the chance.” 

“Well, I know about the time traveling thing and given how much you dote on me and how excited you were to meet my mom, I’m guessing she was dead before now,” Futaba said. Ren tried to suppress a smile, because this wasn’t a happy occasion. But he did acknowledge it.

“You’re correct. There’s more to it, though. First, I’ll go over what never changes. I’ve lived this life around 112 times, I’ve worked out. It could be more than that but it’s definitely no less than 100, because I held a 100-year anniversary celebration where I completely ignored everything and just did nothing the whole time. It was glorious.” Judging from the stares, he realized he’d gone off track. “Also, I just realized nobody explained to Sae what we’re even doing here.” He looked at Sae. “What do you know about the Phantom Thieves? More importantly, I guess, what do the police know?”

Sae started to talk but stammered. “Uh, wait. Why are you asking?”

“Sis, think about it,” Makoto spoke up. Sae’s face worked it’s way through a litany of emotions: Confusion, shock, admiration and anger. 

“You guys are the-”

“Ah, please don’t shout that, we don’t know who’s downstairs,” Ren interrupted her.

“Right. Right, sorry. So, you guys are the Phantom Thieves. I’ve heard a little bit in relation to Kamoshida, but they’ve been keeping the lid on that case.”

Naoto nodded. “I’m pretty sure she’s getting frozen out of the SIU.”

Sae clammed up at the thought. “Getting any days off at all is unusual, so I guess I should have seen it coming. It seems like they don’t want me in the office.”

“Sis, that’s because you’re actually good at your job.” Makoto offered.

Sae couldn’t stop her smile at the compliment. It was nice having Makoto on her side again.

Ren cleared his throat to get attention back on him. “That brings me to another thing. You’ve already heard me mention timelines; given that I’ve learned all about this situation over and over again, I’ve gotten to know all of you creepily well. I’m sure there’s some actions that confuse you guys and I try to keep the prying to a minimum. But the odds are, there’s nothing you can do that will throw me off.”

Ren looked around the room expecting some form of shock and anger, but what he mostly got was nods. “Sae, when Makoto mentioned that you’re good at your job, she’s right. Throughout the last however many years, you are the only person involved in law enforcement that has ever done the right thing. I’m just glad I got to meet you this time before you interrogated me in an attempt to pin a murder I didn’t commit on me.”

“That gets to the next point: Kobayakawa is dead and I have no idea if we’re going to have his death pinned on us. We aren’t as high profile right now as we are when he usually dies. He usually gets murdered in September. Given that it’s May, the timeline has moved up quite a bit. That means I can’t plan out, and I won’t know what happens.”

He took another second to gather his thoughts. “Sae, you’re going to have a lot of questions and I’ll try and answer them. First, the method we use to change hearts is similar to the mental shutdown incidents, but we aren’t the culprit. We know who the culprit is, and we can share more about that at a later date.”

Wakaba spoke up. “That’s a different can of worms, but we’re working on a way to bring the culprit to justice. He enters the cognitive world, called the Metaverse, but instead of changing hearts, he kills them. His methods are more reckless than ours.”

“And we don’t kill. We won’t ever kill.” Ren said. “Alright. Second, in the timeline I’m most used to, your father, Wakaba, Kunikazu Okumara and Kobayakawa are all victims of the mental shutdowns. I’ll be honest, when I found out Wakaba was alive in this timeline, I was really disappointed your father wasn’t.” Neither Sae nor Makoto were crying, but both had a melancholic look in their face. “I’ve heard about him so much and he sounds like a great man.”

Sae nodded. “He was. But I imagine there are some things that need to remain consistent in every timeline. Like, you mentioned Kobayakawa. Or how I’m always the one who does the right thing.” 

“You’ve got it right,” Ren looked at Morgana. “This little guy here, too, he’s another constant. Him, Ann and Makoto are always by my side.” He thought about whether or not he should tell Akechi now, or later. ‘Screw it, Futaba had to have her dirty laundry aired. “Akechi, up until around 10 timelines ago, was consistently trying to kill me.”

“What!? I would never!” Akechi said. 

“I know. If you ever thought I was being cold, it’s not because I want to be. You’ve given me no reason not to trust you, and holding you accountable for something a past you did isn’t fair,” Ren said. "It's important everyone knows that Shido is your father."

Goro nodded. "Mom died soon after, and I bounced from orphanage to orphanage,” Akechi said. “Why?”

“It’s important, and you not working for your father means you aren't as much of a constant as I thought you were.” Ren had to take another second. “You guys mentioned Nyx earlier. Well, my story usually ends with me fighting Yaldabaoth, the God of Control. He’s usually pulling the strings, including setting you on the path to revenge against your father. But you don’t have that this time. In fact, I don’t know anything about Yaldabaoth this time. He’s always there at the end, but I’ve been largely ignoring his involvement this time. His ‘fake’ Velvet Room attendants even showed back up at the real Velvet Room. Akechi, you were Yaldabaoth’s pawn: He wanted his own Trickster and you were his choice.” Ren paused, part for dramatic effect and part to gather the courage to say that part out loud.

The entire room gasped but Akechi didn’t react much. “Well, I guess I got that answer with less trouble than I expected.” He looked deflated. “I’m going to be honest, I was really looking forward to that investigation,” Goro deadpanned. "I really wanted to know why you seemed scared of me at times.

Minako interrupted. “Are we going to explain Igor, as well?”

“No, because I don’t understand it, either. Basically, an old guy with a huge nose is pulling the strings for our side, I think. Yaldabaoth locked him away and stole his form in the original timeline.”

“How do you keep track of all this?” Sae asked.

“It was hard at first but anyone can remember anything if they have a hundred years to do it,” Ren said. “I’m also allowed to keep my diary from timeline to timeline, which helps. If this ends up being the final time loop, I’m going to publish it as a book. Any more questions?”

“A million,” Shiho and Ann said in unison.

“So, like, time travel? How does that work?” Ann said.

“Yeah, is it like Max?” Shiho asked.

“Uh, I don’t know who Max is?” Ren said with an upward inflection, indicating a question mark.

Futaba, meanwhile, let out a deep belly laugh. “Yeah, Shiho, no way you’re a lesbian.”

“I’m so confused,” Ann said. “I thought it’d be like Dio.”

“Why does everyone want me to be like Dio!?” Futaba and Wakaba had a laugh at that. 

“But no, it’s like Groundhog Day,” Ren said, frustrated.

“Okay, class dismissed,” Minako said. “I’m going to go pass out for a few days, hopefully Ryoji leaves me alone.”

Everyone filed out of the room, except for Ann and Shiho. They were the last two people Ren wanted to talk to right now, so of course they wanted an explanation why they were largely left out of the story of the past timelines.

“Let’s go downstairs. I’ll make us some coffee,” Ren resigned to his fate.

===

LeBlanc had slowed down a bit, only a couple regulars left sitting at the counter, so Ren had less reservations about making coffee for Ann and Shiho. He expected to get the third degree about their involvement.

“Ren, we really need to talk,” Shiho said after he brought back three cups of coffee to their booth. “About Futaba.”

Ren couldn’t help it. He laughed. He laughed really hard. “Wait, sorry, let me calm down.” It took a bit for him to come down from his laughing fit. “I’m so sorry, I know you came to me with something important.”

“Now, I’m just curious what you thought was so funny,” Ann said. Neither of them looked offended. Ren was stressed and they kind of expected him to snap at some point. 

“I can tell you after you tell me what you guys wanted to talk about.”

“That works,” Shiho replied. She looked at Ann then looked down at the table. “The lesbian jokes are getting out of hand.”

Ann wasn’t meeting Ren’s eyes, either. 

“Ah. Yeah. I guess those are a lot funnier when it’s not me being made fun of,” Ren said. “And you guys barely know Futaba.”

Shiho nodded but still wouldn’t look up.

“It’s just, I really don’t want to be outed by a stranger to a bunch of other strangers,” Shiho said with a sad expression. “I know she’s not thinking less of me for it, but it’s really not her business.”

Ren nodded. “Futaba never has been one for privacy. I’ll talk to her.”

Ann broke in. “I actually think I’d like to talk to her.” Ren wasn’t sure he trusted Ann. She tended to get carried away, especially when there was somebody that needed telling off. Futaba was less fragile this time, but that didn’t mean she’d handle being confronted well.

“Can I tell you something?” Ren said. “About the future, or the past, or whatever you call all these past lives.”

Shiho’s eyes lit up. “Of course, I’d love to hear it.”

“For the longest time, I was head over heels in love with Ann,” Ren said. “Back before I’d lost all hope of ever escaping, I’d even gone so far as to ask her to marry me. And then I woke up in my own bed back home. I’ve lived with that heartbreak for a long time.” Ann looked surprised. “I stopped dating anyone after that. Knowing I was never going to escape this year, it seemed like a waste of time. I never hated Ann because of what happened. It wasn’t fair of me to expect her to fall in love with me over and over again.” ‘Wow, I really thought I was done being sad about this.’ Ren could feel his eyes well up but he was able to blink hard to keep the tears away. “About 10 timelines after I stopped dating, I found a way to save you,” he pointed at Shiho, “every time.”

“What do you mean?” Shiho eyed Ren hard.

“Shiho, the first two-thirds of this hell, you would commit suicide within the first month,” Ren swallowed. “You were always Kamoshida’s final victim. He was using you to get to Ann.”

“Oh… oh no.” Shiho had tears in her eyes.

“I never got to know you very well before I found out how to save you,” Ren said. “You always kept to yourself. But saving you was always my first initial goal. That first timeline, when all this started, you were the only person to treat the delinquent transfer student with kindness. You and Ann helped me remember that I was a human being again.”

Nobody was crying but the atmosphere was heavy. 

“I’ve never thanked either of you for that. But thank you. So much.” He paused and gathered himself. “Three timelines after that, you two started falling in love. I know it might not be obvious to one of you,” he looked at Ann,” but I’ve seen this scenario a lot of times. It’s already started.”

Ren hoped telling them didn’t mess things up. “I see the little touches, the way you two look at each other. It’s nothing you two need to be ashamed of, and the Thieves are always welcoming. All these new people? I don’t know them. I don’t know how they’ll react. But if they don’t react well, they aren’t welcome here.”

Nobody spoke for a bit.

“Knowing that I might live to see another year,” Ren choked a bit. “It’s the best feeling I’ve ever had. And I’ll be damned if I don’t see things grow between you two again.”

Shiho took a bit and gathered herself. “Good lord, I never imagined you to be such a hardcore shipper.”

“Fucking hell, Shiho, that was so sweet!” Ann gave Shiho a playful swat on the shoulder. “Ren, did you ever start dating again?”

“Just recently, actually.”

“AND YOU DIDN’T TELL ME?!” Shiho shouted. 

“Ah, yes, the person upset with Futaba for not allowing her privacy is yelling at me for keeping my own.”

“You’re an asshole,” Shiho said, and started again before Ren could reply. “And do NOT make that fucking joke right now.”

The three fell back into some playful banner before the two girls left the cafe, leaving Ren alone.

“Hey, Sojiro, I’m going to take a nap,” Ren yelled across the restaurant.

“Alright, kid. No more making girls cry in my cafe,” he admonished.

“No promises.”

===

Ann and Shiho were walking to the station, both mulling over everything Ren had said.

“All of the flirting with me, it wasn’t a joke, was it?” Ann broke the silence. Shiho hadn’t said a word since they left LeBlanc. Shiho shook her head. “How long has this been going on?”

Shiho’s voice was hoarse, but she was able to speak. “About 15 minutes before I told you your art sucked.”

Ann giggled. ‘No giggling allowed, damn it, I’m trying to get over a crush,’ Shiho thought. She almost said it out loud.

“So at least since middle school.” Ann couldn’t believe it. “And I’m just hearing about this now?!”

Shiho wanted to be mad, but even an exasperated Ann was better than a creeped out Ann. “What was I supposed to say? ‘Hey, you’re my best friend and I couldn’t live without you, can we try and fuck that up by getting in a homosexual relationship in a country where that’s not really acceptable?’” Ann laughed at Shiho.

“That would have been fine, honestly,” Ann replied. “Shiho, you know I don’t care about that stuff. We’ve talked about it.”

Shiho sighed. “I know, I know. I just have only ever heard you talk about guys. I still don’t know if you’re into me.” 

Ann looked thoughtful. “It’s not really that I’m not into you,” she said, but it seemed more to Shiho like she was talking to herself. “I’ve definitely thought about it. I just didn’t think I’d be your type.”

Shiho let out a rude kind of laugh, the kind that usually follows someone saying something stupid. “What would you think is my type?”

“I don’t really know. You’re an athlete, so I figured you’d go for another athlete,” Ann said. “Like Makoto. I could see someone like that being your type.” After she finished the sentence Shiho let out a giggle.

“I think she’s spoken for, Ann. Haven’t you seen her and Goro?”

“I’ve noticed a little bit. You think they’re together?” Ann quirked an eyebrow.

“Yes, no doubt about it.” Shiho said.

“Well, good for them.” Ann stopped talking for a second as the train pulled up. The two got on a packed train and weren’t able to speak to each other again until they got off at Ann’s stop. Once they were walking again, conversation picked back up. “Shiho, I’d be willing to go on a real life date if you are.”

‘No tears of joy, please,’ Shiho pleaded with her brain. “Um, I am willing to go on a date with you. When?” 

Ann pulled her phone out. “Well, if you’re not busy tonight, I’ve got some time. We’re coming up on exam season, so after this week I’ll be studying more.” She said, but she felt stupid immediately. “Like you aren’t the person I’ll be studying with anyway.” She flashed Shiho a smile that made her stomach do a flip.  
Shiho stammered and couldn’t find words, until she finally spat out “That works for me, but I’ll have to go home and get ready.” 

“What could you possibly do to get ready? You’re beautiful as you are.”

“God, you’ve said shit like that to me a million times and I’ve picked now to let it get to me.” Shiho said, transparently.

“You’re not the only one that can be a handful, Shiho.” They’d made it to Ann’s apartment and said their goodbyes. Shiho returned home to get ready for her date. Ann took the time to give Ren a call.

===

Ren had laid down and had been resting his eyes for about 30 minutes when his phone, still in his pocket, started ringing. The name “Ann” showed on the screen; he hadn’t anticipated her and Shiho having that talk today, but he wasn’t completely surprised by it. ‘I really hope she’s not calling because she’s angry or heartbroken.’

He answered the phone.

“Hey, Ann, how’s it going?”

“Great. Thanks to you.” Ann said. She sounded giddy. 

“Good, I’m glad I could help. What did I do?” He could hear a small laugh from Ann on the other line.

“Shiho and I talked about the things you said on our way back. We’re going on an actual date tonight.”

“Wow, that was quick!” Ren said. “I didn’t know if you were at that point where you’d try it, yet.”

“I didn’t know either, but she just looked so scared the whole time we were walking together. I realized how much I hated seeing her that way so I took the dive.” Ann paused. “And now I’m trying to get all dolled up to see my best friend.”

“That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard,” Ren replied. 

“Is this what love is like? The more I think about it, the more I think it was always there, somewhere. It’s like it got wished into existence,” Ann said. 

“You and Shiho have always been very ‘match-made-in-heaven’ from what I’ve seen. I just hope I get invited to the wedding.” He could almost hear Ann’s blush.

“Ren! We haven’t even gone on the first date yet!”

“Not true, Shiho told us you went on a date last week.”

“Thank you for reminding me about that, I’m going to tease her about that tonight.” Ann said that last bit in a sing-songy voice. “But seriously, Ren. Thank you so much. For everything. It’s weird, because I’ve only known you for a month, but it’s like I’ve known you for decades.”

“Technically, you have,” Ren interjected. 

“Smartass. I’m trying to be sweet.” She let out an exasperated sigh. “All of this has to be so difficult for you to just rehash with every new person that needs an explanation. I don’t have a solution and I don’t know how we’re going to get you out of this, but giving it my all is the least I can do. I promise to do everything I can to help.”

“Thank you, Ann.” Ren replied. “Likewise. You don’t understand how important you are to me. Same goes for Shiho. I’m not sure I make it through the last ten years without you, even if you don’t remember it.”

Ann didn’t speak for a second.

“Ren, I think something happened to my Persona,” Ann sounded excited. 

“Oh. Yeah, that happens sometimes.”

“What do you think happened?” Ann’s voice had calmed a little.

“Carmen probably evolved into Hecate.” Ren thought. Was there a third one? “We can check next time we’re in the Metaverse. I’m excited to see it!”

“Not as excited as me.” Ann paused again after that. “Hey! You said you were seeing someone and then didn’t provide _any_ other information! You can’t do that!” 

“Ann, I’m really tired. I’m taking a nap.” Ren hadn’t hung up the phone when he heard Ann start yelling.

“Ren Amamiya, I swear to god I’m going to light you on-” Ren hung up the phone. ‘Bye, Ann,’ he thought, then laid back down.”

===

Akechi had begged Makoto to help him gain some of the weight he’d lost from being homeless back, so tonight, she was taking him to the gym and force feeding him protein. After, they’d go back to her apartment, where Makoto would cook a meal that didn’t consist of instant ramen and convenience store sushi.

‘I expected him to be weak, but this is absurd,’ Makoto thought as her boyfriend struggled to finish his third set of bench presses. 95 pounds was his limit right now. Exercise wasn’t a normal thing for him and he’d certainly get better as he got used to lifting, but there was something badass, Makoto thought, about being stronger than her boyfriend. 

“I can’t believe how weak I am,” Akechi said, finally finishing his set. “Can we call it quits for the- hey what’s with that look on your face?”

Makoto’s lips formed a line instead of the wry smile she had. “Oh, nothing, I was just thinking about dinner. I’m getting hungry.”

“Oh. Yes, I’m quite hungry as well. We should get going.”

The two left the gym and started walking back to Makoto’s apartment.

“How are you holding up after everything we learned today?” Makoto asked.

“Honestly? I’m mostly just disappointed I didn’t get to perform an investigation,”Akechi admitted. “I don’t really feel all that much ill will towards my father. He seems like a bad person, but everything I’ve gone through led me here.” He grabbed Makoto’s hand. “I’d have never met you if it weren’t for all that. I would have never joined the Thieves. There’s no point in letting it bother me. I’m going to get my revenge now, anyway. I don’t need to hype myself up for this.”

Makoto was always surprised at how mild-mannered Akechi could be. This man ruined his life and the life of one of his friends, and he still kept a level head. “Akechi…” She said trailing off in a sweet way. 

“Makoto, meeting you made all this worth it.”

‘Ah. Screw it.’ Makoto’s internal dialogue had been arguing with her, but at this point she needed to act. They were a block before her apartment building but she stopped walking anyway. Akechi looked at her. 

“Is everything okay?”

“Everything is wonderful,” Makoto said. Then she kissed him. A light peck, then another that went a little further without being lewd. They were still in public after all. It was both of their first kisses.

“Everything really is wonderful,” Akechi said after their kiss broke. They walked in silence the last part of the block, and spent their night cooking, holding hands and doing nothing more, because Sae was home and even though she’d loosened up a bit, Makoto wasn’t about to jump her boyfriend’s bones while she was home.

===

“The best part about dating your best friend is you already know all of her favorite places!” Ann told Shiho. She’d grabbed her hand and dragged her down Central Street. Shiho loved Ann’s enthusiasm normally, but seeing it on a date? She was swooning.

“What are we getting? Crepes?” Shiho thought for a second. “That does sound really good, though.”

“No, silly!” Ann looked at Shiho like she was nuts. They’d walked in front of the diner where they’d met Ren previously. “Remember the last time we were here? Maybe it was the stress, but wasn’t that the best burger you’d ever had?”

Shiho thought, first about the last time that they were there, then about the burger. Her stomach rumbled at the thought. “Damn, you know me better than I know me. Alright, let’s go!” The two entered the diner. 

The diner smelled every bit as good as the two remembered it. A waitress ushered them to a corner booth where they could talk and munch in peace. They’d ordered their food when Ann decided to try and start a conversation.

“So, most first dates are the couple trying to get to know each other. Um, we kind of already know each other. What do we do?” Ann was wracking her brains.

“I don’t know, I never thought I’d make it this far,” Shiho blushed. 

“Did you just blush?” Ann grinned widely. “The almighty Shiho _blushed!_ ”

Her face was crimson. “You don’t need to be rude about it.”

“Like you wouldn’t be rude about it,” Ann scoffed. “You’re the absolute cutest.”

“Um, thanks,” Shiho muttered.

“No moping, I’m allowed to tease you,” Ann said playfully. “In fact, I’m allowed to tease you even more now, _girlfriend_.”

Shiho tried to speak and failed.

“I’ve honestly never seen you speechless before.” Ann’s tone was serious. “Shiho.exe is not responding. Would you like to send a report?”

Somewhere, Futaba sneezed.

===

Kasumi swung the bat hard, making contact, creating a loud ping. A loud slam could be heard through Yongen-Jaya as she nailed the target, symbolic of a home run. 

“Wow, you’re really good at this,” Souji said, watching his girlfriend show her proficiency at baseball.

“It’s a good way of relieving stress,” Kasumi said, before another ball exited the pitching machine and she swung again, making solid contact and hitting the target again. It was her third home run in 5 tries. 

“Are you stressed?” Souji asked, a confused expression on his face.

“Only a little,” Kasumi confessed. “Sumire’s been catching up to me quickly in practice. I can’t tell if she’s gotten better or if I’ve regressed.” She grunted, hitting a fourth home run. “I’m being an ass. Don’t mind me.”

Souji didn’t seem concerned. “I get it, though. I spend a lot of time comparing myself to my older sister. We’re competitive in the same way.”

“Older sister? You’ve never mentioned her before.” Kasumi didn’t hit the target this time, but she still put an impressive wallop on the ball.

“We don’t speak much, she lives with our, well, mom in Iwatodai. She’s a lot older than us.” 

“Huh, well I guess we don’t talk about your family much, do we?” Kasumi thought about it. She didn’t know much about Souji other than he was an amazing athlete and a good-but-still-improving kisser. “What’s your mom like?”

Souji was a bit startled, she noticed. “I don’t talk about her much, but she’s really nice. Authoritative, for sure. But she’s really smart. It’s hard to explain. She’s not really my mom. She’s the same age as my sister. She’s just taken it upon herself to raise me.”

“She sounds like a great woman.”

“You don’t know the half of it. I owe her my life,” Souji said fondly.

“When will I get to meet her?” 

“I’m not sure, she’ll be in Tokyo again sometime soon,” he said, but he looked like he was thinking harder than necessary. “Her friends have asked her for help with a project. I might be missing school to help, too. I haven’t been told much yet.”

“Oh, wow, Souji, I didn’t realize you were such a busy person.” Kasumi paused. “Any other family I should know about?”

“Well, I live with my half-brother. He’s a lot more like family than mom and sis. He’s always working though.”

“Oh, well what does he do?”

“Yu? Oh, that’s hard to explain. He mostly spends time with his girlfriend, she’s really pretty.” He stopped. “Not as pretty as you, though. We should meet them! Rise would really like you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy 50k words. 
> 
> I'm sicker than a dog right now and I'll be spending most of my day tomorrow at the doctors, so I don't know when I'll get to work on an update again. I've been bored all day, though, so here's a ridiculous 8k word chapter. 
> 
> Grouchy Minako is best Minako. I could write it for hours. 
> 
> I also can't wait to have Ren rag on Junpei. It's going to be excessive. He might get expelled.  
> Updated on 8/31: Fixed a continuity error pointed out by commenter Monadoboy. They're bound to happen when I stray so far from my outline. It's the first of many, I'm sure. Never worry about pointing them out, I always appreciate it.
> 
> Chapter title is a reference to Life is Strange, as is Max’s mention in the story. I’ve said before that I’m not a shipper but that’s a lie. I’m a big Max/Chloe shipper. On the off chance there’s any cross over between the fandoms, TomorrowHeart’s Ouroboros and Play Crack the Sky are both amazing fics that make me feel all mushy.


	13. More About Law Enforcement

_Monday, May 2nd, Morning_

Dr. Tae Takemi had just opened her doors when squad car sirens drowned out the Black Flag cassette she’d just put into her stereo. ‘Well, I picked the wrong day to listen to that one,’ she thought. Takemi planted herself on the desk chair at reception as “My War” blared through the office. An officer forced her doors open like he expected them to be locked, and gave a sheepish look to the two men behind him when they weren’t.

“Officers, what can I help you with?” Takemi kept her tone even. It wasn’t exactly the first time she’d had issues with the law. ‘I’m just glad I’m not carrying today,’ she huffed to herself, then thinking further. ‘Well, if the cops are here, I might close up early and light up.’

“We’re looking for Goro Akechi,” one of the officers said. They didn’t look like they were paying much attention to the place, so Tae was pretty sure they weren’t there for her. She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. 

“It’s 9 a.m. on a Monday, officer,” She rolled her eyes. “Where do you think a high school student would be at 9 a.m. on a Monday?”

One officer looked angry but one of the others laughed. “Told you guys.” He must’ve had the least seniority of the three. “Let’s go, he’s probably at Shujin.”

“Excuse me, can you at least tell me why you’re here? I’m his legal guardian. If he broke the law, I have the right to know.” Takemi was thankful they weren’t proficient in English as “Police Story” started blaring through the speakers.

“Well, that’s a tough one,” one of the officers said. “Apparently, he’s connected to a murder.” 

Well, this wasn’t how Tae expected her morning to go. “Goro?” The officer nodded. “I’m going to be honest, I don’t believe you.”

None of the officers spoke, but she was under the impression that they didn’t believe it, either.

“We’re just going to talk to him. He’s not getting arrested.” The youngest officer spoke. 

“And if he gets arrested?” Tae glared at the officers.

“Then we’ll have you to answer to, apparently,” the officer that entered the room thinking he was Rambo replied.

The officers left the clinic no worse for wear. It was like they were never there. Tae pulled out her phone and shot Akechi a text. 

**TT:** Cops were just here looking for you

 **AG:** ??? what

 **TT:** Connection with a murder?

 **AG:** Oh. Well.

 **AG:** This is stupid.

 **TT:** Did you expect this?

 **AG:** No, but it makes sense given what I learned yesterday.

 **AG:** If they don’t take me in, I’ll explain when I get back.

 **AG:** If they do take me in, I’ll probably be dead by morning.

 **AG:** If you don’t hear from me, talk to Ren. They’re having an assembly this morning. Principal Kobayakawa is dead.

 **TT:** you were supposed to be easy

 **TT:** I knew I should have gotten a cat

 **AG:** you could still get a cat.

 **AG:** I kind of want a cat

Takemi didn’t reply.

===

When he stopped to think about it, it made complete sense to Goro that he’d be getting arrested for a murder the morning after the best night of his life. He still didn’t know what the connection could possibly be, but he did expect that Kobayakawa’s death was being pinned on him. 

He knew the cops were coming and the best decision would be to go talk to Ren before they got there. He always had a plan and now knowing he had some foresight into what was coming meant he might be able to talk Akechi out of trouble. But Akechi decided to make what he thought was definitely a bad idea: He sought out Makoto.

Their class had been the first at the assembly but Makoto must’ve been running late. ‘That’s really unlike her,’ he thought to himself. Instead, Akechi went and stood by the door. He’d be able to tell Ren what was happening. Ren, Ann and Shiho walked into the gym accompanied by a blond man Goro didn’t recognize. He seemed fairly frustrated with the trio.

“Dude, I know there’s something up with you guys,” the blond. “Kamoshida goes down and Kobayakawa dies within a month of you transferring. This shit adds up too well.”

“Sakamoto, you need to back off,” Ren replied curtly.

“I just want to know, dammit.” He huffed. “This is all so effin annoying.”

“You become much less intimidating when you refuse to say the word ‘fuck,’” Shiho pointed out.

Sakamoto grumbled something and walked away. Ren gave a princess wave behind his back and started laughing.

“I love messing with that guy,” he said with more fondness than Akechi expected after getting accosted.

“Um, Ren.” Akechi spoke up, interrupting Ren and Shiho talking about future ways to mess with Sakamoto. “We need to talk.”

Ren judged from Akechi’s expression that the topic was nothing good. “What’s going on?”

“We should probably find somewhere quiet. The courtyard should suffice.”

Ren followed Akechi to the middle of the courtyards, next to the vending machines where, in the original timelines, Ryuji would blurt on recording that they were the Phantom Thieves.

Akechi was pacing and for a second, Ren thought he saw the old Akechi.

He’d be lying if he said it didn’t make him feel nostalgic.

“I’m pretty sure I’m getting blamed for Kobayakawa’s murder.” Akechi said in a matter of fact tone. “I think you insinuated that he was part of this conspiracy, and given it was a big deal that Shido is my father, I’m guessing he is, too.”

If Akechi weren’t getting a murder pinned on him, Ren would have been impressed at how well Akechi connected the very vague dots.

“That…” Ren was really disappointed he hadn’t thought of that. “Wow. It was so obvious. How the fuck did I miss that?” It was Ren’s turn to pace back and forth. “I’m so sorry, dude. We’ll get you out of this.”

Before Akechi could speak up he was interrupted by Makoto, who approached the two wearing a sad expression. “Sis told me what happened.” Makoto looked scared. “We both know it’s not true. You have an alibi.”

Akechi nodded. “I was at school all day, and then you and I went to the gym.”

“Sis says they’re very gung ho about pinning this on you.” She paused. “She said the gun used on Kobayakawa was registered to you.”

“What?” Akechi tried to gather himself. “I’ve never once owned a gun. I don’t know anything about guns. I was homeless! How could I afford a gun?”

“Shido. He could afford a gun. And I’m guessing he had one registered to you, in case he needed to pin a crime on a vagrant.”

“God, that’s so fucking incompetent,” Both Ren and Makoto were taken aback by Akechi swearing.

“It really is. I’m noticing that throughout this whole thing. It’s like Shido isn’t even trying this time.” Ren was concerned by that. Before, Shido was brutal and thorough. Now? He couldn’t even keep his assassin in rank. ‘There’s something bigger happening here.’ 

Miss Kawakami approached the three students looking for Akechi. “The police are here looking for you, Goro.” She gave him a hard gaze. “I don’t know what you did, but there’s enough going on at this school. You need to learn to keep your head down.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Akechi replied defiantly. 

“Miss Kawakami, I swear, he didn’t do anything.” Makoto pleaded with the teacher.

Three police officers approached.

“Are you Goro Akechi?” Akechi nodded. “You’re wanted at the station for questioning. We have reason to believe you’re connected to the murder of Principal Kobayakawa.”

Akechi was put in cuffs and escorted away from the building in a police car.

The Shujin rumor mill took off from there.

===

Akechi sat in an underground interrogation room at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department fidgeting. They’d taken his phone but they hadn’t left him handcuffed in the room. He was mostly just annoyed at the loss of the phone. It was a gift from Dr. Takemi for getting into Shujin. 

‘It’s weird that I wanted to be a cop until I moved in with Tae,’ Akechi mused. ‘Now, seeing one causes me extreme anxiety. On second thought, it’s weird that a lifelong vagrant thought highly of cops.’

He remembered all of the awful things he’d seen police do to his fellow homeless people. Going from shelter to shelter, it wasn’t unusual to find somebody just as down on their luck covered in bruises after they tried to sleep somewhere they weren’t welcome. Behind restaurant dumpsters was typically safe, but if the wrong person found out, they would find themselves black and blue for a couple days.

Broken bones weren’t that uncommon, either. Akechi had been fairly lucky. He’d only been caught a couple different times. Both times, it got him a hot meal and a bed for the night. One of those times had been with Sojiro, although Akechi wasn’t about to remind him. Being homeless was something he still found embarrassing, and Sojiro seemed to respect Akechi as an academic.

At the very least, he humored the kid.

An intimidating man with buzzed short black hair and black sunglasses entered the room. He might have been as wide as he was tall, but not in the same way the deceased principal was. Akechi had no question that this man could rip a phonebook in half. 

“What do you have to say about this?” The man’s voice was deep. He set a handgun on the table.

“I’ve never owned a gun, sir.” Akechi tried to imitate Ren when he was in trouble. No emotion, maybe a little arrogant, but not enough to get himself into more trouble.

“Then why was it registered to you?” 

“I’m concerned about that, as well,” Akechi let out a small cough. “You see, I’ve been homeless most of my life. I’ve only just recently made a friend that’s given me a place to stay. I have a real job now, and a gun is the last thing I’d spend my money on.”

“As far as we’re concerned, your only real job was to kill Kobayakawa.” The man’s tone was not inviting. “Who hired you? And where did you get the gun?”

“Sir, I was at school at the time of the murder. It occurred in the police station. Surely, there would be camera footage placing me at the scene of the crime? I guarantee that there’s footage placing me at the school.” Akechi stood, erm, sat firm but he was gripping his chair hard to distract himself from the severe panic attack he was about to have.

“You sound so sure for somebody guilty of murder.”

“I never have, and never will kill anyone, and I’m concerned that you’re so adamant it was me.” Akechi wanted to stand but he didn’t want to give the man any reason to punch him. He couldn’t even take a punch when trying to spar with Makoto. This man had at least 200 pounds on her. A single punch would probably be fatal.

“The only reason you haven’t been arrested and brought in is you have a fortunate connection.” The man stood back up. “Have you ever wondered who your father is?”

“I know who my father is, and I very much want nothing to do with him,” Akechi replied, trying to keep his voice from sounding harsh. 

“Well, he’s your way ou-”

“What’s happening here?” A woman in a blue shirt with a yellow tie entered the room. She looked at the large man. “Who are you? Who authorized an interrogation?” She looked at Akechi. “Why is there a high school student being interrogated?”

The man was visibly shocked at first but regained his cool. “He’s the prime suspect in the Kobayakawa case.”

“Have you guys even dusted the gun for prints yet?” Her eyes narrowed. “Do you even work here?” The look in her eyes, Akechi thought, said ‘don’t answer this question.’

“I’m not taking orders from a woman,” the man replied indignantly.

Naoto moved forward and caught the man off guard, holding his arms behind his back and handcuffing him to the chair.

“Get up.” Naoto ordered Akechi. “You’re free to go. Sae is standing guard. None of these men work here and we don’t know who they are.” She looked at the large man. “He thought he was performing an interrogation, but I’m getting to the bottom of this. The rest of the force is curious, too.”

The man grunted, trying to stand but Naoto did a good enough job cuffing him that he couldn’t move.

“Akechi, you should lay low for awhile. I can’t guarantee I’ll be employed much longer.” Goro nodded and exited the room.

===

 **RA:** So. Akechi got arrested

 **RA:** never thought i’d be the one trying to get Akechi out of jail

 **FS:** ha, that is funny. This has to be weird for you.

 **MN:** I’d like it if we didn’t joke

 **RA:** sorry Makoto

 **SS:** Futaba being mean? Shocker.

 **AT:** Shiho.

 **SS:** Ignore me. I’m being rude.

 **FS:** Did I do something?

 **SS:** Yes but I’ll get over it

 **AT:** She means she’s going to stew over it for a month then attempt to stab you in your sleep

 **FS:** I’ll place morgana strategically

 **SS:** No murder. Akechi already hit the phantom thief quota for murder

 **MN:** I hate all of you

 **RA:** We’re going to get him out, Makoto.

 **MN:** Actually sis is already on it never mind

 **MN:** He’s on his way back to school.

 **RA:** ???

 **MN:** I’ll explain later.

===

“Imagine me a few months ago, meeting my sister’s boyfriend by escorting him out of a police station after an interrogation,” Sae said with a laugh. Akechi awkwardly laughed. She’d handed Akechi his phone back once they got out of the station.

“I wish we’d have met in a better way.” Better temperament or not, Sae was still intimidating.

“I’m not holding this against you.” Sae’s expression was more serious as they made it to the parking garage. “None of us asked to be born. Can’t pick who your parents are.” Akechi nodded.

“I’m just wondering why he waited until now to get in touch.”

“Your principal had ties to your father’s outfit. Your name probably came across his desk when you applied for Shujin,” Sae said in a droll tone. “I’m sorry if that’s hard to hear.”

“No, it’s about what I expected.” Akechi sighed. “I was surprised they accepted my application, and now I know why. I wonder if they’ll allow me to stay enrolled.”

Sae thought for a second. Akechi seemed like a smart kid and she couldn’t imagine Makoto seeing someone who wasn’t at least as intelligent as her.

“I don’t see that being a problem,” Sae tried to give a reassuring smile, but she felt self conscious. She didn’t have much practice in being supportive. “Between Shirogane, Takemi and I, you have three vocal supporters. At the very least, the school board will keep you enrolled just to get me to leave them alone.”

Akechi returned her smile. “I appreciate the offer. Hopefully it doesn’t come down to that.”

===

The Phantom Thieves, plus Sumire, Kasumi and Souji, all met on the rooftop at lunch time just in time for Akechi to get back to school. Sae had fed him lunch, so he wasn’t eating but it would be good to see his friends.

The roof door opened and Makoto was the first to greet him. She didn’t speak. Instead, she gave him a hug tighter than he was anticipating. He hugged back while holding in a cough.

“I was so worried.” Makoto’s voice broke. “I’m glad you’re safe.” They broke their hug.

“Akechi, what happened?” Ren spoke up first.

“This huge guy in a black suit was interrogating me. He said something about my father but by the time he got to it, Shirogane-san came into the room and handcuffed him to his chair. Sae-san escorted me out of the building. Turns out the guy wasn’t a police officer or a detective.”

Everyone but Souji looked at him in horror. 

“Eh, you’ll get that with cops,” the quiet first-year said.

It broke the tension on the rooftop. Akechi laughed first. He was the first to speak again when the laughter died down.

“You know, it’s funny, I had that same thought when I was sitting there.” Akechi took a somber tone. “Until recently, I’d always dreamed of being a detective like Shirogane. And now it looks like she’s not having the best time of it.” He looked at Makoto. “Your sister doesn’t seem to be having much fun, either.”

“No, she’s really not.”

Souji spoke up again. “My brother and his girlfriend’s bodyguard is an ex-cop. All of her stories are about how corrupt the department is.” Kasumi looked at him.

“Why does your brother have a bodyguard?”

“Oh. He’s dating Rise Kujikawa. It’s kind of necessary.”

Goro sat there silently, thanking whatever deity he believed in today that the attention had been stolen away from him. He just wanted to get out of school and get to work. The rumor mill was already taking its toll.

===

_“I heard the new kid killed Kobayakawa…”_

_“I bet it was him and that other transfer…”_

_“Did you see him with the class prez? She must like bad boys…”_

Akechi’s trip down the hall angered him. “My life would be so much easier if I was half the monster they thought I was.”

===

Souji had mentioned enough about his home life that Kasumi just _had_ to meet his family. She trusted Souji, but there was no way his brother was actually dating Rise Kujikawa. It did make sense, though, that he always had a ride home from school instead of taking the train like everyone else.

He asked Kasumi to come to his house after school today, not necessarily to meet Rise, but because he legitimately needed help with his homework and he knew she had the day off. Minako was still sleeping off a weekend bender, or something, Ren had told him. He didn’t know why Ren was such good friends with their gymnastics coach but it seemed like he was friends with everyone. ‘He’s just a great dude. He kind of reminds me of Yu.”

“I can’t believe you lived in the same house as _Risette_ and didn’t tell me.” Kasumi’s tone was more playful than angry, although Souji wasn’t going to blame her for being at least a bit mad.

“Eh, I try to avoid clout chasing,” he replied and took her hand. “Besides, I didn’t know if you’d get jealous. That’s a surprisingly common reaction.” He struggled to make friends because of it. It constantly felt like his only male friends were friends with him because of Rise. He tried not to resent her because of that; it wasn’t her fault.

“No way! That’s so cool!” Kasumi practically had stars in her eyes. “What’s she like?”

Souji had a thousand yard stare. “She’s extremely nice but very hard to deal with.” 

Kasumi casted a confused glance.

“I- well, she’s definitely going to spend the whole first time we meet giving you the third degree, and I guarantee she’s good for at least a dozen inappropriate comments and a dozen inappropriate questions.”

Kasumi thought for a second. “So she treats you how I treat Sumire?” Souji laughed.

“There are some similarities.”

A rusty, beat-up sedan pulled up to the school’s gate. “There’s our ride,” Souji said and held the door open for Kasumi. It was an old car and the front seat still had three seats. Kasumi remembered her father having a similar car when her and Sumire were small, before he got his promotion at the TV station. 

“Hi!” The woman driving the car broke ever stereotype of a bodyguard that Kasumi had ever known. She scooted into the middle seat; the back seat was too full of trash for anyone to sit back there. “I’m Chie.”

“You really need to clean this thing out,” Souji said. 

“Good to see you, too, Souji,” she said with some sarcasm in her voice.

“I’m Kasumi Yoshizawa. It’s nice to meet you.” There wasn’t enough room in the car for them to shake hands, so Kasumi bowed her head slightly. This car was very uncomfortable.

“Likewise.” Chie checked her mirrors and pulled away. “Hey, are you guys hungry? I’m going to hit up a drive through. I need some meat.”

Kasumi’s eyes lit up and Souji knew that she’d at least get along with one person in his life.

===

Akechi made it from school to Takemi’s office without issue. He was worried he wouldn’t. 

The first thing he noticed when he opened the double doors was the lack of loud music. He half-expected to get to work to find her listening to something obnoxiously anti-establishment; NoFX was a band she’d mentioned offhand one night while they were eating dinner. Instead, he could hear some voices in the back. One he recognized as Dr. Takemi and the other he recognized from just earlier today. He walked back to the small, private office they were having a discussion in and knocked on the door.

“It’s open,” Tae said, and Akechi walked in and found the two women with tense looks on their faces. “Akechi, I’m glad you’re safe.”

“I’m discussing finding alternate housing for both of you,” Sae said. 

“I literally just moved in, though.” Akechi really didn’t feel like uprooting his life again. He was just getting used to having a roof over his head, even if he didn’t have many possessions to cart with him.

“I understand, Akechi, but maybe you should hear her out.” Takemi looked uncharacteristically worried.

“Fine.”

Takemi nodded towards Sae, as if telling her to continue speaking.

“Naoto is setting up a safehouse not far away from the school through her employer,” Sae said. She sounded unsure of what she was saying, like she was either not sure she believed Naoto or maybe not sure of Naoto’s connection.

“I thought she worked for the police?”

“She consults for the police. She has a second job.” Sae paused. “I wish she worked full time for the police. It might not be such a mess.”

“She’s probably safer not working for them,” Akechi pointed out.

“Anyway, we’ll take my car,” Takemi said. “In case Sae was followed.”

The three left the office; Tae locked shut off the lights and locked the door. She’d brought some medical supplies with her and some of her apothecary equipment. She at least assumed the Phantom Thieves would come calling soon. It sure seemed like something was coming.

===

Kasumi still couldn’t believe Chie’s car was capable of moving but at least now she had an understanding as to where all the trash came from. She had an appetite that rivaled the twins’. She also had a terrible habit of eating while driving. And talking with her mouth full.

“Shee, tat’s da beft ting about Tokyo,” Chie swallowed a comically large mouthful. “We didn’t have burger joints back in Inaba. This is much more convenient.” She took another large bite, finishing her second sandwich. She frowned. “I should have gotten a third.”

Kasumi kept a polite smile on her face, silently judging but then feeling guilty knowing her and Sumire had probably embarrassed themselves in a similar manner on multiple occasions. She’d committed a similar act on her first date with Souji. No wonder he’d seemed so used to such behavior.

“I think I speak for both of us when I say we’re glad you didn’t get a third.” Souji said in an amused tone. The rest of the trip featured the two bickering back and forth about Chie’s eating habits.

“Well excuse me, I am an athlete!”

“You aren’t an athlete, you’re a bodyguard!”

“It’s not my fault I got banned from competing!”

“You broke a man’s jaw!”

“He was making fun of Yukiko!”

Kasumi laughed through the whole exchange.

===

They pulled in front of a monstrously tall and extremely upscale apartment building a block off of Central Street that Kasumi immediately thought was overkill. She already believed Souji when he said he lived with Risette but if she hadn’t, this would have sealed it. And she thought Minako’s apartment was nice.

“I can’t believe you live here,” she told Souji. The lobby was a soft beige color and the front desk had gold accents; it looked like a hotel she’d remembered staying at when her dad had to attend a convention. The doorman hit a button on the elevator to take them to the top floor of the building. She didn’t get the chance to see what story it was, but they’d be a thousand feet in the air. 

“Well, if it makes you feel better, there’s more than just us living here.” The elevator hit the top floor and Kasumi was immediately floored by the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked Shibuya and the rest of Tokyo. They were high enough that they could almost see the ocean from there. The foyer had light blue walls but once they had entered the living room, she noticed dark wood floors and light grey walls, although most of the walls were windows. 

Kasumi was staring, and Souji noticed.

“It’s kind of cool, right?”

“Cool? It’s amazing.” She looked around the room in awe. “Where’s everyone else?”

“Yu and Rise are around here somewhere,” Chie interrupted while plopping down on the couch. “I wouldn’t go looking for them.” She made a face that insinuated something gross as Kasumi and Souji joined them. “I’ve made that mistake.”

Souji nodded. “As have I”

“It’s incredible they don’t have a ki-” 

“ _Chie!_ ” a voice exclaimed from around the corner. “You can’t just say that.” It’s owner appeared from a door that Kasumi realized must have led to the kitchen. “Seriously, they’re kids. Like Souji doesn’t take enough after Yu as it is.” It was a woman with long turquoise hair and a very soft voice. She was dressed conservatively but comfortably, in a long green skirt and a lightly colored top. 

“I think I’m much cooler than Yu,” Souji interjected.

“Than me? Sure,” Chie replied, garnering a nasty look from the other woman.

“That joke is never funny, Chie.” The woman continued staring at her, but her eyes lightened. “But now I’m imagining Yukiko laughing at it…” and she started laughing.

Kasumi stood up and introduced herself to the new woman. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Yoshizawa-san. I’m Fuuka Yamagishi,” the woman bowed. “I’m guessing you’re here to meet the parents?” Chie giggled.

“Don’t let Rise hear you say that.”

“Will she get mad?” Kasumi inquired.

“No, the opposite, she took to Souji like a crazy cat lady,” Chie said looking at Souji, whose face was beet red. “She’s still trying to get you to call her mom.”

“And that is absolutely not happening.”

Kasumi thought for a minute. “Souji, you mentioned a mom before, didn’t you?” 

Fuuka had a concerned look.

“It’s a bit hard to explain but I’m sure it’ll get cleared up eventually,” he replied. Fuuka’s glance relaxed.

“His mother is a bit of a complex topic, not necessarily a sore subject, just a very strange one. I hope,” she glared at Souji, “that you explain it soon.”

“I plan to,” Souji returned her glare. 

“I mean technically Fuuka-” Interrupted by Fuuka, yet again. 

“ _Chie!”_

“Fine, I’ll stop, I’ll stop.” Chie laughed at the exasperated Fuuka. “I need to call Yukiko anyway. She should be in town sometime soon.” She hopped up from the couch and walked down a hallway, out of sight.

“I’m sorry about Chie, she can get pretty goofy,” Fuuka said.

“Same, though,” Kasumi replied. “She seems like a good time.” She patted her stomach. “And she fed me. Anyone who feeds me is automatically a good person, no other context required.”

Souji was glad to see Kasumi hit it off with Chie but he didn’t expect Fuuka to laugh at a comment like that. Fuuka wasn’t normally much for humor; she was shy to the extreme and often didn’t react to many of his attempts at humor. 

“Fuuka, have you seen Yu and Rise?”

“Yu is around here somewhere, but Rise has a last second photo shoot that Inoue-san begged her to take,” Fuuka said. “She left a note for you.”

The three had a mild and polite conversation about how they knew each other when Kasumi noticed something odd about Fuuka. She had a faint outline of a person surrounding her; like a glass bubble. On top was a woman.

Kasumi was unsure if she should ask. It had gone well asking Minako.

‘Maybe, I’ll let this one go. I’ll ask Souji about it later.’ There are a lot of things that she had to ask Souji about, like why they all dance around who his mother is.

It was nice to be at their apartment though. Kasumi and Souji were allowed to sit close to each other, even holding hands, and nobody said anything. There weren’t any dirty looks like she expected. Everyone seemed more like peers than authority figures. It was refreshing. She thought about Minako, who she felt similarly about.

They were distracted from their conversation when a tall man that looked nearly identical to Souji walked down the hallway. The similarities were shocking, the only difference being that he was a fair bit taller and broader than Souji, a product of being older. Even their voices were close to the same.

“Oh, Souji, I didn’t know you were home, why didn’t anyone come get me?”

“Chie was afraid to walk in on you and Rise again,” Souji said, causing Fuuka to turn red and Yu to look off in the distance like he was avoiding the subject.

“Ah. I suppose that’s as good of a reason as any.” He looked at Kasumi. “Wait, you’re new. Are you Souji’s girlfriend?”

Kasumi nodded.

“It’s nice to finally meet you.” He had one of those smiles, Kasumi thought, that would be impossible to imitate or fake. He just radiated happiness. “Kasumi, right?” She stood up and crossed the room, and shook his hand.

“Yes, it’s really nice to meet you.” Kasumi tried not to gulp. She couldn’t believe she was dating this man’s mini-me. ‘Don’t be weird, don’t be weird, don’t be weird.’ Then she realized she was still standing there awkwardly. “I didn’t even know Souji had a family until yesterday.”

“Yeah, I’m not surprised. Rise can be very overbearing,” he said fondly. “It’s hard to get used to and even harder to explain.”

Conversation slowed as Kasumi told Yu about herself and her sister, and their gymnastics career. It was her favorite subject, and Souji just watched her in admiration. She’d get very amped up when talking about competing.

“A friend of mine just started coaching, actually.” She looked at Yu and very briefly noticed an outline of _something_ behind him. ‘This stuff is going to follow me everywhere, isn’t it?’ “You talk about competing the same way she does.”

“Is your friend Coach Arisato?”

“Yes. Actually, yes it is. Man, that’s a hell of a coincidence,” he said in an exasperated tone.

“No, it probably isn’t a coincidence,” Kasumi replied. They went back to lighter conversation topics, Kasumi being 100% sure that all of the people in the room had something to do with the Persona stuff Minako and Ren told her about.

===

Dr. Takemi pulled into a mid-size home in a neighborhood Akechi didn’t recognize. Some of the homes looked new and fairly nice but the home they pulled in front of must have been one of the older ones. It had a garage, though; unusual for the inner city. Takemi pulled the vehicle in after Sae got out of the car and opened the garage door. 

A car, probably belonging to Naoto, was already parked out front. Naoto exited a door that went from the kitchen into the garage and greeted the two refugees. She handed Takemi a business card.

“I’m hoping you’ll both be safe here,” she said, then realizing she hadn’t introduced herself. “I’m Naoto Shirogane, it’s nice to meet you.” She stuck her hand out to Takemi.

“The Detective Prince? Man, kid, you really stepped into some shit,” she grinned at Akechi.

“Actually, I think the better way to put it is the shit stepped onto him. I’m positive he’s innocent. The police haven’t even started a formal investigation.” Naoto looked perturbed. “This isn't a discussion for a garage. I made tea, let’s get in the house.”

Naoto told the two her main concern was them being followed, but they weren’t. She was sure of it. Taking Dr. Takemi’s car was a good decision. 

“The house is stocked with enough food for a few weeks and we’ll be sending someone by with your clothes soon, as long as you’re okay with us sending someone to grab it.”

Takemi thought for a second. That part didn’t bother her. She’d just picked up more weed, and she could really use some right now. It was sitting in a baggy under her bed. “Will the person picking up my stuff be a cop?”

“No, it’ll be a friend of mine, why?” 

“Any chance I can get their contact info? I’ve got something I need but I’d rather not disclose it to a cop.” Akechi looked at Takemi horrified. 

“Wha-” He was interrupted by a laughing Sae and a confused glance from Naoto.

“How illegal is it?”

“It’s legal in most other countries?” There was an upward inflection on her voice, implying that it wasn’t legal here.

“Oh.” Naoto thought for a second. “Kanji won’t have a problem with that. He might ask to split, though.”

Akechi had no idea what anyone was talking about and every time Sae looked at him, she would just start laughing.

“Sae, why are you laughing at me?”

“Oh, I’m just happy my sister picked a good kid.”

Naoto and Sae left a bit later, and Takemi and Akechi took the time to settle in.

Akechi was trying to apologize but Tae shut him down quickly.

“Don’t bother, kid. I’m not being put out by any of this,” she waved her hand. “Besides, you’re doing the right thing. And I think by sticking by you, I am, too. I’ve been looking for bullshit to rebel against for years, and now I’ve finally got something material.”

He didn’t know what to say.

“I guess it’s time for me to put up or shut up, right?”

===

_Monday evening_

**MA:** i’m awake

 **RA:** you weren’t kidding about passing out for days

 **MA:** it’s only been one day

 **MA:** we should take the twins to the metaverse tomorrow

 **MA:** I cancelled their practice today so they’ll need the exercise

 **RA:** we don’t have another target yet.

 **RA:** everything has been too crazy to start going after Madarame

 **MA:** Wakaba’s mentioned mementos before

 **RA:** I’ve never seen anyone awaken there

 **MA:** Futaba did

 **RA:** Oh. Yeah. Duh. 

**MA:** Regardless, we’ll try it. Two wildcards should be enough protection.

 **RA:** I’ll bring the rest of the thieves.

 **RA:** low key kind of curious what your metaverse outfit will look like

 **MA:** Oh yeah, no evokers needed this time. Hopefully

 **MA:** Shooting myself in the head was weird.

 **RA:** I too, would like to avoid getting shot in the head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good news! I'm too sick to work which means I have all sorts of time to write more, hence the absurd output. I don't expect that to stick around forever.
> 
> I'm ridiculously excited for the next chapter. It was going to be part of this one but then I fluffed myself into 5k words and decided that was enough for one chapter. I'm finally getting close to having every character introduced at some point. The endgame is still quite far off, though. 
> 
> The Madarame arc is fast approaching. Little hints have been dropped, but they've been absurdly small. It won't be anything like the game at all. 
> 
> And I replaced the thorough and ruthless style of fascism used by Shido in the game with a more familiar lazy fascism. He's inept for a reason. He's also not the main bad guy of this story. That doesn't mean I won't enjoy writing him getting his ass kicked.


	14. Mitsuru's Terrible, Horrible, No Good Beary Bad Day

_Two years ago…_

“Of all the people I have ever dealt with, you are by _far_ the most difficult!” Misturu Kirijo was familiar with regret, shame, sorrow, pride, and a litany of other emotions, but not once had she ever regretted her actions. It took two short appointments with this ‘shadow-turned-good,’ as Yu had called him, to feel regret for the first time. 

“He is quite a handful,” Aigis said in a stilted tone. A stilted tone was the only way she could speak, Kirijo supposed. It’s how she was programmed.

“Hey, don’t blame me, Mitsu-chan! Teddie is beary stressed!” The skinny blond man spent most of his time inside of a mascot costume of a bear and spoke in mostly bear puns. Kirijo found his existence stressful. She suspected his existence made Aigis especially uncomfortable. Her sole reason for existence, before the prevention of The Fall, was to hunt shadows.

Kirijo was at least proud of Aigis for not killing Teddie on the spot.

...

But she also kind of wished she had killed Teddie on the spot. 

“Fuuka!” Kirijo called for her employee, although calling her that felt a bit cold. Fuuka was a dear friend. She appeared next to Mitsuru, who was monitoring a former bear that was attached to a heart rate monitor and a few other machines meant to monitor bodily functions. X-Rays on the bear came back blurry and unreadable. MRIs and CAT Scans showed no activity under the skin, although a CAT Scan turning up with no brain activity became less shocking over time. 

“Mitsuru, what’s up?” Fuuka showed concern for both Mitsuru and Teddie.

“I don’t know. What are we even doing here?”

“Well, I think the idea was if we could turn a shadow good and combine that with the same technology that made Aigis, we could make an anti-shadow weapon that’s also fully human.”

Mitsuru said nothing.

“Who came up with this idea?”

Fuuka’s cheeks turned a bit red. “Well, I think we’d had a few drinks but I think it was Yu’s idea.”

“Great, I don’t think I could put him in charge of this research.” She sighed. “This is such a waste of my time.”

“What about Isshiki?”

“What _about_ Isshiki?” Mitsuru wasn’t the biggest fan of Wakaba. To her, the Metaverse was this wondrous world to be researched. Mitsuru had lost her father and one of her closest friends to it. It was meant to be combatted, not researched.

“Mitsuru, I _know_ you don’t like her, but you haven’t given her a new project yet.” Leave it to Fuuka to calm her down. “To you, this seems like a dead end, but if anyone could make this work, it’s probably her.”

Mitsuru didn’t say anything. She closed her eyes for a second and thought about it. 

“Fine. Call Wakaba and explain the project. It’s hers if she wants it.”

Fuuka made the phone call on speakerphone, so Mitsuru could hear Wakaba’s reaction.

After explaining the project, Wakaba provided an enthusiastic “yes.” ‘Of course she doesn’t find this wrong.’

===

Three months. It took Wakaba _three months_ to take Yu’s drunken idea and turn it into reality. ‘What do we even need a shadow for?’ Kirijo thought. She had no idea why she’d even greenlit the idea, but it helped that Metaverse research didn’t inherently cost any money. It was just time consuming. But Wakaba’s answer for how she figured it out? That was infuriating. Mitsuru so badly wanted to hate her. 

“Morgana and I went to Mementos one day and dragged somebody’s shadow back here with us,” Wakaba told her story. “We needed somebody docile enough that their shadow wouldn’t be violent, but ambitious enough that they’d still have a shadow, so we had an idea. We hit a turning point when we found out Maruki-san has a palace. He’s been in it before and checked it out. He doesn’t find it inherently dangerous, although it might be a problem later. That’s a different story though. We discovered that Yu had a new shadow that must have developed sometime after he left Inaba. It was mostly his lazy thoughts. It said a lot of things like ‘I already saved the world, why do I need to work anymore?’ Which, to be fair, is pretty relatable.”

“You kidnapped Yu’s shadow…” Kirijo replied. 

“Yep, and it was surprisingly easy. I think it helped that Yu has met me before and is fairly fond of me. But, we got the shadow back to the real world. He met Teddie and they had a long conversation about feeling misplaced among shadows. Teddie explained how he got over it and how he got his own body. Not-Yu understood and just decided to stay. It was actually really simple.”

“You just cloned Yu.” Kirijo confirmed.

“Yeah. That’s basically what happened.”

“Can I meet him?” Mitsuru couldn’t get over her shock. 

“Oh, yes, he’s very excited to meet you. He hasn’t stopped thanking me since Teddie talked some sense into him.” Wakaba said.

“He doesn’t behave like Teddie, does he?”

“No. He doesn’t. Thank god.” Wakaba sighed. “Teddie is beary annoying.”

“You’re lucky you still have a job after that crack.”

“Oh no, I couldn’t _bear_ to be unemployed.” Silence followed on the phone line.

Then Mitsuru laughed. “Okay, I’ll give you the last one. That was funny. You keep your job.”

That’s how Mitsuru found herself face to face with what was basically a clone of one of her colleagues, albeit he was definitely a bit younger. He hadn’t filled out nearly as much as Yu. He was a bit shorter and his voice was a bit higher. It probably had something to do with Yu still thinking of himself as a child, something she’d worked through in therapy after her father died. ‘If I had a shadow back then, it probably would have been a child version of me.’

Mitsuru then realized she was staring.

“Mom?” The not-shadow looked at her. If he hadn’t been smirking like Yu did when he was being a little shit, she’d have almost been touched.

“I… well I guess that’s partially true.” Mitsuru thought to herself. “I have no idea how to raise a teenager, though.”

“This is weird.” The not-shadow’s mannerisms matched Yu’s exactly. “I’m a shadow, this should be weird for you, not me. Make this not weird.”

“I’m trying!” The not-shadow laughed. “I’m trying to think of what I’m going to do with you.”

“I don’t have an answer for that. But could I meet my brother?” Mitsuru was confused.

“You already met Teddie?”

“No, I meant Yu." He scratched his nose. "Wakaba said he's my brother. Not all shadows are related. I find that a bit insulting, Kirijo-san.”

Mitsuru thought he was kidding but he didn't laugh. “Well, let me call Yu. I don’t actually know if anyone told him what we were doing.” Kirijo laughed at the thought. “Actually, you want to call him? Also, do you have a name?”

“Well, til now it was Yu. But Wakaba had me talk on the phone with her friend to scope out my interaction skills and he had a cool name. Sojiro?”

Mitsuri nodded. “What about just ‘Soji’?” The no-longer-a-shadow nodded.

“Souji. I like it.”

===

“Senpai, what was that phone call about?” They’d been out of high school for a few years and Rise would still sometimes call him senpai. It was something that took getting used to, but she got quite creative with its use. It had turned into a dog whistle for Yu. The second he heard it, he was powerless.

“That was Mitsuru.” He couldn’t get the shocked expression off his face. “I, well.” He paused. “This is insane. I have a brother.”

The two had been out at a little coffee shop in Yongen-Jaya that one of Mitsuru’s researchers had recommended. It was so out of the way that Rise had very little chance of being spotted in public.

“What? Did they find something in your family history?”

“No.” Yu didn’t know how to explain it. “So, I had a shadow in Mementos? It’s like the TV world, kind of. They uh, brought it back and Teddie helped them tame it. So now, it’s just a regular person. He sounds exactly like I did when I left Inaba.”

“Aww! Senpai, we should meet him in person!” Rise was taking this better than Yu was. “I bet he’s just adorable.”

“How does this not bother you?”

“Of all the weird things we’ve seen, is this really the weirdest? We basically have a little brother now!” She hadn’t stopped smiling but then she grinned wider. “Do you think Mitsuru will let us raise him?”

Yu didn’t say anything.

“Aww, senpai, come on, we should take in your little brother. You’re such a good big bro for Nanako, right?”

Yu knew at that second that he was completely powerless. He sent Mitsuru a text asking if she’d found a place for the kid to live yet.

===

_May 3, After School_

It was unusual for the Phantom Thieves to go more than a week without traveling to Mementos in previous timelines but it had been over a week since they were last there and Ren was excited to stretch his legs. The rest of the Thieves seemed just as excited; Ann’s Persona had since gone through another awakening that she was excited to try out and this was Shiho’s first trip to Mementos where she hadn’t been regularly getting the tar beaten out of her at volleyball practice.

Ren was sure Akechi had some frustrations to work out and Makoto always had frustrations to work out. 

Minako and the twins were waiting at Shibuya Station when the Thieves arrived, Minako carrying what looked like a hockey bag. Ren didn’t have much experience with hockey, so he wasn’t sure what the bag was actually for. 

“You guys ready?” Minako sounded as energetic as ever. The Thieves nodded. 

“Sumire, Kasumi, you are to stay behind Minako at all times. This is already a bad idea and we don’t really know what’s going to happen.” Ren then spoke the word “Mementos” into his phone, and the world turned black and red.

They disappeared from the real world and into the cognitive world at the mouth of the subway of humanity’s desires.

They also didn’t notice a certain dyed-blond spy among their ranks.

“What the eff is this place?”

“God damn it, why does this always happen?” Ann spoke up first.

“Okay, if you’re going to follow us into the metaverse, you need to start saying fuck.” Shiho sounded annoyed.

Ren sighed. He should have expected Ryuji to be suspicious. “Sakamoto, you should probably get out of here,” he said, knowing it wouldn’t deter the guy.

“What is this place?” He repeated at Ren.

“Well, if you must know, it’s humanity’s collective desires.”

“Bro, I’m not even going to pretend I know what that means,” he replied. Ren thought for a second. It’s not like they weren’t already escorting two powerless people with them. What makes a third?

“Want to come with us?”

The rest of the Thieves glared at him. “What are you doing?”

“Ah, come on, he’s a big dude, he’s bound to be good at this,” Ren lied. He didn’t feel like going all future-Ren on them. “Plus, he’s a good dude. Anyone who wasn’t a good dude would have punched me in the face by now.”

“That’s…” Ann got interrupted by Shiho.

“That’s a very good point.”

“I mean, this is almost literally how I awoke to my Persona, so I’m not really worried,” Futaba pointed out. 

“Is this some kind of prank?”

“Bud, I’ve been asking myself that for a hundred years.” Sumire looked at Ren, wondering what he meant by that.

The group, all nine of them, started their way down. There weren’t any specific targets today, so they started from the very top. The weaker the shadows are, the less dangerous it would be to have three separate people awaken.

The twins and Ryuji stayed in their normal clothes, of course, but Minako was in an outfit that fit her surprisingly well: a black skirt and a black sweater that looked like a school uniform but cut more like an athletic top. She also had a large set of red headphones on her head, similar to Futaba’s. 

“Can you hear us through those?” Ren said. Minako was checking herself out.

“Yeah, I can. I’m kind of disappointed that this is pretty much my Gekkoukan uniform. The mask is cool, though.” The mask was cool: Red that matched the headphones with a black outline around the outside and around the eyes. She pulled a giant stick out of her hockey bag.

“Do you really fight with a hockey stick?” Ryuji asked.

“Well, no, but I couldn’t find my naginata and I found this at a sports store. It’s close enough.” Minako dug through her bags and pulled out two short swords. “I also brought these for the girls. Sorry, other guy, I didn’t expect a third.”

“Nah, you’re good.”

“Sensei, what am I even supposed to do with this?” Sumire examined the sword. It had a wooden handle and an 18-inch blade. It looked fairly cheap.

“Stick ‘em with the pointy end,” Kasumi interrupted.

“What she said,” Minako agreed with Kasumi. “Hopefully you don’t need it.”

Shiho pointed something out. “That sure sounds like a jinx, Minako.”

“Oh please, jinxes aren’t real.”

“You guys are fighting ghosts in an alternate reality and you choose to be skeptical of jinxes?” Ryuji was perplexed.

For the record, it was very much a jinx.

===

The Yoshizawas did nothing but bicker the entire trip down. Not being able to fight was killing them and no sisterly bond was going to prevent the two hyper competitive athletes from getting at each other’s throats. Ryuji was the only one who could focus on preventing them from killing each other.

“You two need to effin stop.”

“It’s not my fault Sumire isn’t as good as me!”

“Kasumi, you’re being mean! Besides, I only lost by half a point last meet!”

“The judge just got you confused with me and thought I went twice!”

“Will both of you shut the eff up?” They both looked at Ryuji.

“You’d be a lot cooler if you said fuck,” Kasumi jabbed and Ryuji winced.

“It’s okay, Ryuji, swearing isn’t ladylike. I’m better than Kasumi there, too.”

“Like you’d know anything about being a lady, you could barely even get a boyfriend until I told you how.”

“You did no such thing!”

Joker interjected. “I liked Sumire before she said anything.” He gave Sumire a smirk he only ever gave as Joker. It nearly made her heart stop. He knew what he did. 

“How did that happen, exactly?” Queen asked.

“I was moping around Shibuya because I was having a good day and nobody wanted to hang out with me.” He looked in Ryuji’s direction. “I was actually about to go talk to that guy when she tackled me to the ground.”

“ _Senpai!_ That’s not what happened!” Sumire exclaimed. “I was ju-” She stopped speaking when an unspeakable pressure and the rattle of chains became apparent. Futaba went pale.

“Hey, guys? You should get out of there!” 

“Any traesto gems?” Minako spoke up. 

“I don’t know what that is, but I don’t have any Goho-Ms either.” Ren thought for a second. “Minako, you take the lead on this fight, I’ll protect these three. I’m more in practice than you. I think I can take this guy but we really have to ensure their safety.” It was probably the most conservative plan Ren had ever gone with. Queen was proud but Joker was really just doing his damndest to protect Sumire and Kasumi. Ryuji? He trusted Ryuji to figure his shit out. The twins? That was a completely unforeseen circumstance. They weren’t used to fighting the Reaper, no matter how competent this group was.

Minako nodded and headed to the front of the group. The ghastly, bloodsoaked Reaper, wrapped in all it’s terrible chains, stared down the Phantom Thieves and the former co-leader of S.E.E.S. “Alright, no fuckin’ around. Orpheus! Neo Cadenza!” A light went around the party; they were in need of healing and an attack boost wasn’t going to hurt. Makoto attacked first with Makajarn, but it didn’t work; instead of waiting around for another attack, the Reaper sent a Mabufudyne, immediately taking down Ann. Shiho and her Persona, Eris, were quick to revive her. Ann immediately hopped to her feet, eager to try out her new Persona.

“Hecate, Blazing Hell!” The Reaper was engulfed in the hottest blaze any of them had ever seen, his cries of pain great, but not enough to kill him.

He released a Megidalaon back in frustration. Minako was the only one left standing.

“Fuck, I’m rusty.” She grunted. Heal? Take him out quickly? She was at an impasse. “Fuck it. Alice!” A terrifying looking little girl in a blue dress appeared behind her. “Megidalaon!” It hit the Reaper and his head drooped but he wasn’t done. A vorpal blade finished Minako, leaving Ren by himself.

He wasn’t happy with himself. Without thinking, he started barking orders. He handed Ryuji his bag. “Ryuji, give everyone a bead chain, quickly.” He looked at the twins. “You two, run away. There aren’t any shadows around when the Reaper comes.”

Sumire had a determined look in her eye. “Not on your life, Senpai.” Kasumi nodded and drew her sword.

“No! You guys don’t get to do this! You need to get out of here!” It was too late but apparently the Reaper had shown some mercy. Or he was trying not to waste energy.

A chain moved faster than Ren could react to, striking Sumire. A second hit Kasumi while Ren was reacting. Neither of them were moving.

“You don’t have any bead chains in here!”

“Of fucking course I don’t,” Ren had his back against the wall. “Chi-You!” Ren called the Chariot Persona, symbolic of his bond with Ryuji. “Psycho-blast!” He nailed the Reaper, but he must have healed. That should have been enough to take him down. The Reaper struck back.

At Ryuji.

Chi-You flew to protect Ryuji, taking the hit, in turn causing Ren to take the hit. It wasn’t fatal, but Ren was impressed his Persona-less friends could withstand it. 

“Well, on the bright side, if we all die, I get a re-do!” Ren said. “Ryuji, you feeling particularly rebellious today?”

“You’re about to die and you’re _still_ teasing me.”

‘Holy fuck. That worked.”

“I’m so fucking tired of everyone making fun of me. I’ve worked so goddamn hard. I _know_ I’m not the smartest dude. But I try.” He started covering his face and tugging. Ren couldn’t help but smirk. “All of this shit. I just wanted to know what was happening. I didn’t even want to _come_ here. And now it’s just another person who looks down on me. And he’s about to get me killed.” He ripped the mask off and Captain Kidd appeared behind him. “Wha-”

“Ryuji! Do something! Distract him!” Skull ripped off his mask again and a lightning attack hit the reaper. It wasn’t strong, but it was something. Ren was able to revive everyone.

“Minako! Your turn!” 

The newly revived Minako called for Alice. “Megidalaon!” The Reaper was finally finished.

Everyone left Mementos.

===

“Ryuji, wait.” The blond was trying to get away as quickly as he could. “I didn’t realize how much shit we were giving you.” 

Ryuji looked at him. “Dude, you haven’t laid off in weeks.”

“I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry. That was bullshit.”

“I don’t even know you, man. I don’t mind people giving me shit, but you’re a stranger.” He sounded mad, but not as mad as he was back in Mementos.

“Let’s fix that. We want you to join us. As a Phantom Thief.”

“Do I have a choice?”

“If you don’t join, we’ll kill you.”

“For real?” Ren laughed.

“No. But we’d still like to have you. You’re a good dude, Ryuji.”

“Fine. Thanks, Ren.”

He scurried off.

“So, at least one person woke up. Even if it was because of your bullying.” Minako pulled Ren out of his thoughts.

“You know, I’m just so used to messing with him that I didn’t even think. I’m glad I cleared things up.”

“You look happy. He must be important.”

“He’s always my best friend. I’m surprised I’ve lasted this long without him.”

Minako nodded. She had other business to talk about. “So. We almost got three civilians killed.”

“Sure did. But we didn’t.”

“Good attitude.” She paused. “How are we going to get the twins to awake?”

“You kidding me? They just lost at something. They’ll awaken the second they walk into a palace.” Ren laughed. “Hell, the first thing Sumire did after finding out Kasumi got a boyfriend first was run off and ask out the first guy she saw.”

“I can’t tell if you’re fucking with me.”

“Yeah, I can’t tell either. You heard them going at it. Neither of them lose. Ever. Especially Kasumi. She might accidentally summon Ares or something crazy.”

“That would be helpful.”

“That one was a joke, Minako.”

“I think it was less of a joke than you’re thinking. I think this whole conversation is less of a joke than you’re thinking.” Minako sighed. The twins were both exhausted. Normal people in the metaverse always ended in extreme exhaustion. 

Minako was secretly planning to take the twins back to Mementos tomorrow. Gymnastics practice could wait.

===

“We almost died back there,” Kasumi said. “Didn’t we?”

“I’ve been trying to avoid thinking about it,” Sumire replied. Minako had dropped them off back at their house. They were sitting on their respective beds, Sumire finishing up her homework, Kasumi playing some game on her phone. “I know they said it was dangerous.”

“Are you mad at them?” Kasumi raised an eyebrow.

“Absolutely not.” Sumire had fire in her voice. “I want to impress Senpai, and I think this is the way to do it.”

“He absolutely does not expect you to go that far to impress him. Have you seen how he looks at you? He’d thank you for farting in his mouth.” Kasumi giggled when her sister’s face turned crimson red. 

“ _Kasumi!_ ”

“What? You know it’s true.” She paused. “You know what really pisses me off?”

“What’s that?”

“I don’t like losing.”

“I really only ever lose to you.”

“Oh. So this is what it feels like? That’s irritating.”

“Sure fuckin’ is.”

“You can’t be around Coach anymore, Sumire.”

“She’s a very bad influence, sorry, Kasumi.” Sumire sounded very worried.

“I was kidding. You need some edge to you. At least you aren’t that blond guy that’s afraid of the f word.”

Sumire laughed. “Yes. At least I’m not that guy.”

Sumire closed her book and decided it was time to sleep. She bid her sister goodnight and conked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I'm really disappointed in how few bear puns I fit into this chapter. Also, this puts a few more characters into the story, including Teddie, who I'm desperately trying to figure out how to make the big bad guy at the end (I'm kidding). 
> 
> My explanation for Souji is probably the most ridiculous but I use the existence of Maruki's palace in Royal as the reason Yu still had a shadow. Nowhere does it say, explicitly, that a Persona user can't have a shadow, and if it does say that somewhere, I'm choosing to ignore it for the sake of storytelling. 
> 
> This chapter is a little shorter than I've been putting out the last week because it got split in half. I went back over the draft of the second half of it and decided it was missing something, so I'm in the process of adding that something right now. I'll post it tomorrow or Sunday. Or I'll post a chapter both days, because my life has gotten remarkably boring and I don't have anything else to do.
> 
> Special thanks to stock_img, who pointed out a mistake where I used Melchizedek as Shiho's persona instead of Eris. Basically, when I feel like writing but still have some things to work out, I'll use placeholders, and the name Melchizedek is fun to say, so he's usually my go to placeholder Persona. It was something missed in my last round of edits because I got too excited.


	15. Of Apologies and Terrible Influences

_Wednesday, May 4th, Morning_

**Minako has added Sumire and Kasumi to a group**

**MA:** Rise and shine, kids, we going to Mementos today

 **KY:** Don’t we have gymnastics?

 **SY:** Coach, we already missed practice once this week

 **MA:** what would you rather do, though?

 **SY:** …

 **KY:** You’re a terrible influence, coach.

 **MA:** Mweheheheh

 **KY:** Wtf even is that

 **SY:** I knew the Phantom Thieves were evil

 **MA:** I’M NOT A PHANTOM THIEF

 **MA:** Officially

 **MA:** If they asked me I’d probably join.

 **MA:** I missed killing shadows.

Nobody had replied in a while.

 **MA:** Don’t ignore me kids I’m lonely

 **SY:** We’re in class. 

**MA:** Nerds.

 **KY:** Just the worst influence. What was Hiraguchi thinking?

 **MA:** That just hurts.

===

Ren waited by the gate for Sakamoto when he got to school that morning with the intention of talking to him before school started.

“Sakamoto-san,” Ren grabbed his shoulder when he tried to walk passed. “Hey, you got a second?”

“Just Ryuji, dude,” Ryuji corrected him. “Unless I hallucinated yesterday because it kind of seemed like a hallucination.”

Ren laughed. “You didn’t. That whole thing is real.” Ren stopped smiling after that. He looked thoughtful instead. “I’m sorry about Shiho and I. It’s really hard to explain, but you remind me a lot of a friend I had back home and I just thought we’d hit it off really easily.”

“It’s okay, dude.” Ryuji sighed. “I wasn’t that bothered by it. It was a little annoying, sure, but at least you would talk to me. Everyone here acts like I’m damaged goods.”

“Well, you’re with us now. We’ll stick by you.” Ren nodded reassuringly. “We’re all damaged goods, too.”

“I appreciate that. I haven’t been part of a team since I quit track.”

“You’ll fit in. We just have to teach you how to get things out of the bag,” Ren joked.

“Oh, come on, man, I was effin nervous.”

“That’s fair. I remember my first time fighting the Reaper.”

The two had to walk to class as Ren started telling the story but were interrupted.

“Ren-kun, could you help me?” Haru had grabbed Ren’s shoulder as he walked by.

“Oh, Haru, I haven’t been around lately, sorry about that. Sure, I’ll help.” He looked at Ryuji. “You want to help, too?”

“Sure, dude.” The two helped Haru haul a couple bags of fertilizer up to the roof. They’d just made it to the roof when the bell warning them classes were about to start went off.

“See you later, dude. I can’t be late again.” Ryuji hurried off, back down the stairs.

“Who was he?” Haru watched as he ran off.

“That’s Ryuji Sakamoto. Want me to introduce you next time?”

“Yes, please.” Haru said, with a look in her eye that Ren couldn’t read.

‘I’m not sure whether to celebrate for Ryuji or pray for him,’ Ren mused.

===

Sumire texted Ren letting him know her and Kasumi wouldn’t be around at lunch today; they made friends with some other first-years and decided they should get to know their class better, being transfers and all. 

Ren didn’t think much of it, but it was a lie. In reality, both of them felt guilty for going to Mementos without him and neither of them trusted themselves enough to keep up a lie to his face. 

On his way to the rooftop, Ren was stopped by Miss Kawakami.

“Amamiya-kun, do you think you could come discuss something with me?” He hadn’t exactly had any reason to see the Thieves for lunch other than the fact that they’re his friends, so he shot them a text letting them know he had to talk with a teacher.

“I can now,” he smiled at Sadayo. ‘I miss our talks, anyway,’ Ren thought.

He followed her into the classroom.

“Is Goro-kun safe?” Worry spread across her face.

“He is.”

“Are you going to tell me what happened?”

“Not here. The walls have ears. I think.” Ren shrugged. “I’m still trying to figure out how the rumor mill here works.”

“That’s fair.”

“I’ll call the maid service Friday night.” Ren really wanted to laugh at the shock on her face but he felt guilty when it turned to panic. “Wait, wait, you aren’t in trouble.”

“Who told you?”

“A client of yours is a friend of mine.” She had a look of disgust on her face.

“I know, most of your clients are gross. This guy isn’t an exception. But I get what you’re doing.” He gave her a friendly smile, hoping to calm her nerves. “Your secret is safe with me.”

“O-okay. I’ll see you Friday, then.” Lunch was almost over by the time they were done talking, so he sat at his desk and ate his food.

===

_After School_

The Twins waited for Minako at Shibuya station with excitement.

“You ready?” Kasumi asked her sister, who nodded, then looked past Kasumi and noticed Minako walking up. 

“Alright, so no dawdling today so we don’t run into the Reaper, got it?”

The Twins nodded.

“What was Ren said? It’s showtime?” Sumire giggled at Minako’s mocking. “He’s such a fucking nerd.” She thought for a second. “Not as bad as Narukami, though.” It was Kasumi’s turn to laugh. Minako punched in the keyword and the girls were off to Mementos.

===

_25 minutes later_

**MA:** Have you ever seen that episode of dbz where vegeta just gets so mad at goku for going super saiyan first that he goes super saiyan?

 **RA:** The original or abridged because Vegeta crying and yelling “i wanna” was aces

 **MA:** I haven’t seen that one. We should watch that next time we hang out with the twins

 **MA:** speaking of the twins

 **MA:** they have Personas now

 **RA:** call me

===

Ren answered the phone. “Start talking.” He was not happy.

“Okay, so I get that you’re probably mad.”

“But.”

“But. You’re right. But. There was no way they were going to be able to concentrate in practice today so I thought, ya know, maybe one more attempt in Mementos would fix the problem. Well.”

She swallowed hard. “They both awoke at literally the first shadow, argued over who killed it, then argued over who got their Persona first. They tried to fight each other for a bit, then they both collapsed from exhaustion.”

Ren let out a sigh. “Minako, nobody should ever be taking trips to Mementos with a group that small.”

“I know, it was irresponsible but I had it covered! Alice can take care of any shadow other than the Reaper.”

“You didn’t let me finish.” Ren gave a chuckle. “That sounds hilarious, and I’m really mad I missed it. Where are you guys right now?”

“Well, I’m driving them back to the apartment because I’m pretty sure their parents would freak if their gymnastics coach dropped off their kids completely exhausted and near passing out.”

“You’re right. They wouldn’t like that. I’ll be over soon, if that’s okay.”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

**Ren added Ryuji, Sumire and Kasumi to the group chat**

**RA:** Akechi, Ryuji, I’m sorry

 **RA:** We’re outnumbered even worse now.

 **RA:** Sumire and Kasumi both got their Personas today

 **RA:** No women allowed. We lack diversity.

 **RS:** How dare you assume my gender

 **FS:** Ryuji, you’re non-binary?

 **RS:** No, just being an ass

 **FS:** I can’t comment.

 **SS:** No, you’re right. You can’t, Futaba.

 **FS:** HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY SORRY

 **FS:** IM SORRY FOR SHIPPING YOU AND BLONDIE SO HARD

 **RS:** wait aren’t I blondie?

 **RS:** oh right, ann. Duh

 **SS:** get me that artist’s info and you are forgiven

 **AT:** Shiho made a print and has it in her wallet

 **AG:** That’s so sweet I want to vomit

 **AG:** I would like his contact info as well

 **MN:** Welcome to the group, everyone.

 **SY:** Thanks, Niijima-senpai

 **MN:** Just Makoto, please.

 **KY:** that’s asking a lot of her, senpai

===

Ren arrived at Minako’s apartment to find all three devouring takeout from Big Bang Burger; they’d gotten more food for the three of them than the Thieves had ever gotten for themselves, and typically if they got Big Bang Burger, they were celebrating taking down a palace and splurging a little.

It was more impressive than gross. About as impressive as the amount they were putting down was they were also somehow not making a mess. Yukari, who had let Ren in, didn’t react. 

“Is this normal?” Ren asked the television star.

“Oh yeah. You should see when Minako and Akihiko get together,” she said nonchalantly. “This is nothing.”

The girls were too focused on their food to acknowledge Ren. It wasn’t unexpected, so he went and sat on the couch instead. Yukari had the news on in the background but she was sitting at her desk running over what Ren had guessed was a script. A news story on Principal Kobayakawa’s passing played, with no mention of a suspect in custody or a suspect fleeing. He took a small bit of relief in that. No public manhunt for Akechi meant it would be a little easier to lay low, and from what he’d heard from Makoto, the police weren't interested in Akechi as a suspect. His being brought in was born of incompetence, not malice, on their part. 

The girls finished their food and joined Ren on the couch. Sumire sat next to him and yawned loudly before leaning into him, putting one arm over him. Ren responded by putting his arm around her.

“I take it your trip was a success?” Ren looked around the room. The twins were exhausted completely and Minako was more tired than usual.

“Mementos really takes a lot out of you,” Kasumi said. “How do you guys do that all the time?” Sumire had started snoring softly, in the meantime.

“It gets easier as you go,” Ren replied. “Awakenings always end in exhaustion. It just means you did a good job.” 

Kasumi grinned. “You bet we did. I’m sorry we disappointed you yesterday.”

“I wasn’t disappointed. I’m just glad nobody died.” Minako shook her head as if breaking a trance.

“Yeah, I keep thinking how much I messed that up. Then I went and did the same thing today.” She huffed. “At least it worked out today.”

“Well, Coach, if it makes you feel less guilty, we planned on going to Mementos today whether you were with us or not,” Kasumi tried to sound cool but Ren glared at her. She wasn’t used to a glare like that from him.

“And you will never go to Mementos without me or Minako. Ever. And if it’s just you three, that’s bad, too. We do not go if we don’t have at least four people, and a navigator is absolutely necessary. If Futaba can’t go, you can’t go.” Minako’s ears perked up.

“What if I got Fuuka to go with us?” Kasumi’s ears perked up.

“I met her a couple days ago!” Minako looked at her with interest. Kasumi continued. “I went to Souji’s to meet his brother and she was there. She really runs things around there.”

“Ha, if you only knew.”

“Well, I did kind of know. I could see her Persona the same way I could see yours. And Yu’s.”

Ren listened with interest as Minako made some mean jokes about Fuuka’s cooking and Kasumi laughed. He hadn’t realized Kasumi had run into other Persona users. It seemed like the twins were magnets for them. 

Or they were all magnets for each other. That would make more sense. It wouldn’t surprise him, at this point, to find out Dr. Takemi and Sae Niijima could have Personas, for as involved as they had been in this time loop. ‘But that would ruin my diversity initiative!’ He looked at the girl sleeping in his arms. Sumire’s snores slowed and it seemed like she might wake up soon. ‘We haven’t even been on a real date yet. I should fix that.’

===

Sumire blinked a few times before she realized she was practically on top of Ren in front of her sister, her coach and the star of Neo Featherman R. But Ren had her arm around her and it was cozy, and she just adjusted herself this way she could fe-

‘Monkey brain! Stop it!’ She admonished herself internally. Her cheeks turned red but luckily nobody noticed she was awake yet. ‘I’m just going to sit here and get rid of the evidence of that thought.’

She rested for another few seconds and fell back asleep for another 15 minutes.

She woke with a start again, her cheeks red now because of the dream Ren interrupted when he had to get up to leave. It was dark out now and Sojiro would be wondering where he was. 

“Senpai,” her voice still sounded sleepy. “Do you care if I come with you? I could use some coffee.”

“Of course. Makoto will be there, too.” Sumire was happy she’d get to spend time with someone from the team, but she was slightly disappointed that she would get Ren alone. It’s probably for the best, she thought, that she didn’t get Ren alone. 

===

When Akechi returned to his and Tae’s new temporary home, he was greeted first by screeching guitars, a heavy bassline and a loud English voice. He was used to this by now but he always tried to make note of what Tae was listening to today. _What we don't know keeps the contracts alive and movin'. They don't gotta burn the books, they just remove 'em. While arms warehouses fill as quick as the cells. Rally 'round the family, pockets full of shells._

Akechi’s English was good enough to be considered bilingual but even with his advanced understanding, he didn’t quite get the song. He certainly didn’t find it pleasant. He rounded the corner to find a tall man with buzzed black hair and wearing a black tank top sitting at the kitchen table with Tae. He had a sewing machine in front of him, adding a new patch to Tae’s jacket. 

They both looked up at Akechi.. Their eyes were bloodshot.

“Hey, kid, Kanji dropped off our stuff.” Her words were a bit slower than usual and had a cadence similar to the bad kids on the cartoons Akechi had finally gotten to catch up on ever since he stopped being homeless.

“Hi, nice to meet ya.” The man flicked off the sewing machine and stood up to greet Akechi. “I’m Kanji Tatsumi. Just call me Kanji.”

“Nice to meet you, Kanji-san.” They shook hands. “I, um, I think I’m going to go work on some homework in my room. Nice meeting you.” Akechi was very uncomfortable but neither of them seemed to notice. Tae was on another planet. There was a baggie full of these little green nuggets on the table that Akechi had never seen before, he noticed as he walked by.

“Wanna smoke?” Tae offered but the look on her face said she was just teasing Akechi.

“No, thank you. I really need to get working.”

“Well, don’t say I didn’t offer.”

Akechi had made it to the room but he could still hear them talking.

“He seems like a great kid,” Kanji said. “It’s a shame what happened.”

“It really is,” Tae said. “I’m probably the last kind of person he should be around.”

There was a brief pause. “I was always that way with my friends. They were all these clean cut kids just trying to do the right thing. I was the big motherfucker picking fights with biker gangs. In the end, I needed them just as much as they needed me. You’re doing the right thing, Tae-chan.”

===

Shiho felt really, really bad. She didn’t _mean_ to break Rio-chan’s nose. Rio-chan wasn’t even mad at her for it; it was a good set and a good spike, Rio made a play on the ball and it got her in the schnoz. Regardless, an injury so visible on a volleyball player just a week after Kamoshida’s confession was difficult to explain.

Not only was Rio going to have to have her nose reconstructed, but Iori was going to look like an abuser by association. That wasn’t great. 

“Suzui, come with us,” Iori pointed her out. “We’ll get her to the nurse’s office.”

They walked Rio to the nurse’s office and set her on one of the chairs. Iori pulled Shiho out of the room.

“You got any healing magic?”

Shiho blinked twice. “What?”  
“Come on, I know about your Persona.” Iori pleaded. “I can use Spring of Life but it won’t work as well outside of the Dark Hour.”

“Wait, you can summon in the real world?” 

“Well, not as well as in the Dark Hour but yeah. You can’t?” Coach Iori gave her a confused look.

“No! None of us have ever tried!”

“Just a second, I’m going to grab something.” Iori sprinted off in the direction of his office and Shiho stepped into the room with Rio.

“Rio-chan, I’m so sorry, it was an accident.”

“Shiho, if you apologize again I’m going to break _your_ nose.” She was holding a tissue over her nose to halt the bleeding just a little but she needed another. Shiho handed her another. “It’s all part of the game.”

Shiho sighed. “Sorry, it’s just after every-”

“I get it, everybody is thinking about that. But that’s not what this is, and injuries happen. Now please, just let me enjoy my ruined beauty in peace,” she said with a smile. Shiho laughed. Rio was a first-year and even then, she was smaller than usual. Small and waifish, similar to Futaba, but not as malnourished, given she remembered to eat, while Futaba might not leave her computer for days at a time. Shiho imagined Rio had trouble dealing with the boys in her class, being cute but too small to actually fight anyone off. She was going to make a great libero next season, though. She had taken charge of the other first years. 

There was a knock on the door and again Iori pulled Shiho out of the room. 

“Okay, so you’re going to use this-” he handed her a-

“What the fuck is this, Iori?” Shiho looked at the handgun he was handing her. It had S.E.E.S. engraved on the side. 

“Whoa, dude it’s not a gun! It’s an evoker.” He pointed it at his head. He checked the immediate area around him, then pulled the trigger. A figure of red and gold appeared behind him. It had gold wings and the head of a bird holding a red gem in it’s mouth. “This is Trismegistus. Great fighter but not so great with the healing.” He tried to hand Shiho the gun again. “Wanna try? I’ll distract Rio.”

Shiho took the gun and held it to her temple. “God, I really never thought I’d be doing something like this.” She held her breath and pulled the trigger. “Eris!” A woman with purple skin and black hair appeared behind Shiho holding her staff out. “Lullaby.” Shiho said this more quietly. If Rio passed out, they could convince her this was a dream. “Dia.” Rio’s nose healed itself, moving back into its proper place like nothing happened.

“Yeah!” Coach Iori celebrated. “It worked!” 

“I can’t believe it worked!” Shiho would be lying if she said she wasn’t excited. “How did you know?”

“Oh, yeah. Yuka-tan told me.”

“Yuka-tan?” Shiho quirked an eyebrow.

“Yukari Takeba.” Iori said this like it was supposed to be impressive.

“Oh, that makes so much sense, _Stupei_ ,” Shiho said then laughed.

“Hey! That-” Shiho and Coach Iori started bickering while a bewildered Rio woke up in the nurse’s office, confused as to why her nose was no longer broken.

“Huh. Did something happen?” Coach Iori looked at her.

“Oh, you just took a spike to the face, but you’re good now.”

“Yeah, I remember that. My nose was broken. Why isn’t it broken now?”

“Um, i-i-it wasn’t broken.” Shiho glared at Iori as he stammered. Is he really this inept?

“Sure, coach. Let’s get back to work,” Rio popped up out of the chair. “Man, I have way more energy than I did before practice!”

She sprinted down the hallway.

“Stupei.” Shiho spat.

===

“Want to go on a date tomorrow night?” Sumire shook out of a daze as they got off the train and started their trek towards LeBlanc. 

“Yes! Senpai, I’d love that.” She grabbed Ren’s arm and hugged it, hanging on for a short stretch of the walk. “What’re we gonna do?”

“I was thinking a trip to Kichijoji would be fun.” Ren hadn’t spent much time there in his many times around the loop but he knew there was a nice jazz club and a couple good restaurants. Darts also sounded fun but he didn’t want to get peppered with them should Sumire lose a game.

“I haven’t been there in a while, let’s do that!” Sumire practically skipped the rest of the way to LeBlanc. 

When they got there, the bell chimed and Makoto was sitting at a booth, a cup of coffee in front of her, her nose in a book. She didn’t look up when they walked in but Boss greeted them.

“Oh, you’re back.” He nodded towards Makoto. “You’ve got a friend here.”

Ren and Sumire scooted into the booth opposite Makoto. She finally put down her book and greeted the two of them, apologizing for not seeing them first.

“I’ve been having an off day.” Her eyes didn’t leave her lap as she said that. “I’m so worried about Akechi. Sis said he’s safe but it’s best if I stick to seeing him at school for now. We don’t know if they’ll go after him again and the police haven’t found any trace of that intruder’s employer.”

“But we know his employer is Shido.”

“You know that, but you don’t have any actual evidence.” Makoto sighed. “I believe you, don’t get me wrong. I don’t doubt you’re correct. But nobody is going to believe your fortune teller schtick. God, that was the worst lie you’ve ever told.”

“I’m a terrible liar, for a thief,” Ren replied.

“Guys, my dad’s the executive producer for Good Morning Japan.” Sumire interjected. “We could have Akechi tell his story. I don’t know the whole thing, but it’s interesting enough, and putting him in the public eye will make it harder to have him disappear. Plus, he’s attractive. Get him a haircut and he might be an overnight celebrity.”

What.

“Who replaced my girlfriend with a criminal mastermind?”

“Senpai, we haven’t even gone on our first date yet,” Sumire corrected him. “I don’t want you having buyer’s remorse.”

“So you aren’t rejecting the criminal mastermind label?”

“I just really like spy novels…” Sumire looked embarrassed. Makoto laughed at the exchange.

“At least you two have _that_ in common, isn’t that right, Ren?” Ren tried to mirror the Niijima glare and got one right back.

“I’ll talk to Akechi. Sumire, see what your dad says.”

“Can we talk about the part where she said my boyfriend is attractive enough to be a celebrity?” Makoto whined. “I really think we should talk about that.”

“Queen, it’s strategic, calm down.” Ren replied. She calmed down at the use of her code name.

“Senpai, be nice.” She looked back at Makoto. “Sorry, I was in strategy mode. In no way am I trying to encroach.” Her eyes narrowed and Ren interjected. 

Minako wasn’t lying when she compared an awakened Yoshizawa twin to Vegeta.

===

 **SS:** Coach Iori is a fucking idiot

 **RS:** Language

 **KY:** Fuck you

 **RS:** :/

 **RA:** No more bullying Ryuji

 **SS:** why not?

 **RA:** I told him we’d stop.

 **SS:** Fuck you, Joker

 **KY:** Why is Coach Iori an idiot

 **SS:** I found out I can summon in the real world

 **SS:** I broke Rio-chan’s nose today.

 **SY:** Oh no! She’s so pretty, too

 **SS:** Well she’s still pretty

 **SS:** Iori gave me this gun thing that let me summon and I was able to put her to sleep and heal it

 **SS:** I have no idea what she remembers and I don’t want to know.

 **SS:** Could be a problem tho

 **RS:** Good job helping though

 **RA:** What Ryuji said. It might be a pain, but you did the right thing.

 **MN:** Probably shouldn’t have summoned in the school though

 **FS:** Already wiped the cameras

 **FS:** Also found something interesting

 **FS:** ryuji.jpg

 **FS:** Someone’s got a stalker

It was a photo of Ryuji walking down the hallway; a girl in a pink cardigan and auburn hair following him.

 **RA:** That’s Haru. She’s a friend.

 **FS:** Why is she following Ryuji

 **RA:** She’s either got a crush or she’s holding a grudge. I can never tell with her.

 **RS:** Hopefully it’s a crush.

 **RA:** Praying for you/congrats buddy

 **AG:** That’s ominous

 **FS:** Akechi so rarely responds that I just imagine him as the narrator

 **AG:** Says the girl who only responds to embarrass people

 **SS:** Or out them.

 **AG:** Yes, Shiho. Or out them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter may not seem like it, but we're actually approaching the end of one arc and the beginning of another. I'm a few chapters ahead again with what I have written, but I'm going to space updates out a bit over the next week in an attempt to stay ahead and give the story some time to breathe. I'm really excited for everyone to see the next few chapters. I really busted my ass on it. 
> 
> As always, thanks for reading!


	16. The Successes of the Traumatized

_Thursday, May 5th, early morning_

Yu had already been asleep by the time Rise made it home; she’d been out for a couple days promoting her tour. The most recent leg of it had been cancelled, leaving her with some free time but unfortunately, she still had to have promotional materials for when the shows went back on. This meant pre-recorded interviews, photoshoots and schmoozing. 

She knew what she signed up for. If she didn’t love her job, she wouldn’t be there. The idolatry wasn’t always ideal but she loved being able to make music. So, she kept up on it after her small sabbatical in Inaba. She looked at her sleeping boyfriend, thinking about just how well that sabbatical had gone. She climbed into bed. She’d wake up again in a few hours while Yu was getting ready for work. Rise was excited to hear about all she had missed. Apparently, Souji had a _girlfriend_. 

===

_Before work_

Yu woke up to brown-ish red hair blurring his vision and a woman shaped mass of warmth in front of him. He had to shake off the fog of sleep before he realized Rise was home. ‘That’s fine, I don’t need to go to work today.’ He couldn’t take a day off, though. He had deadlines to hit on multiple stories, even though most of them were of the boring sort. 

‘Reach out for the truth, my ass,’ Yu thought. For every corruption case or life changing event, there were a dozen meetings featuring constant bullshit posturing from bored old men with too much money and nothing better to do. He found it disgusting.

Even more disgusting, though, was the lead candidate for Prime Minister.

‘Let’s not do that right now,’ he told his brain. He buried his face into the back of his girlfriend’s shoulder and dozed for another few minutes. 

She nudged him awake with her foot ten minutes later, pointing out some discomfort Yu must’ve been having poking her in the rear.

“If _somebody_ wasn’t a sleepy head, we might actually have some time alone,” she teased.

“Guilty as charged,” Yu grumbled as Rise turned around to face him. They shared a brief kiss and Yu got out of bed and started getting ready for work, making small talk with his girlfriend the whole time. They’d worked their way to the kitchen where Souji was eating _something_ for breakfast. He was Yu in a lot of ways but apparently Yu’s shadow didn’t share his cooking ability. He did, however, share the ability to eat nearly anything without thinking about it first.

‘Kids guts must be through the roof,’ Yu laughed at his own joke that he didn’t even say out loud. 

“Got something to share with the class, Senpai?” Rise mocked with a grin.

“The fact that you guys are so old and she still calls you Senpai is equal parts cute and creepy,” Souji said, looking up from his gruel. 

It earned him a hurt, pouting look from Rise but it went away quickly, replaced with a playful grin. “How dare you speak to your mother that way!” 

“Ah-” Souji started, then stopped. “Uh.” He stopped again. “I’ve got nothing. I need to get to school. Is Chie awake yet?”

Yu shook his head. “I think she’s in a meat coma. She had some new training she was trying yesterday and then she raided a beef bowl shop. We might not see her til noon.”

An “I heard that!” came from the bathroom down the hall. 

“Well, now we know she’s awake, but she probably shouldn’t be driving.” Yu nudged Rise in the ribs. “You could drive him.”

Rise had mischief in her eyes. “I suppose I could. I _did_ miss meeting his girlfriend.” Souji had a feeling in his gut that this would be stressful.

===

“I suppose I should tell you about Kasumi,” Souji started the conversation before Rise could. He liked Rise, but he couldn’t handle the incessant teasing as well as Yu. It made him feel self conscious about his background. 

He knew Rise wasn’t bothered by him being a former shadow but he also knew she was likely to be the person to make a joke and not realize she was being hurtful. 

“Yu told me you’d got yourself a girlfriend,” Rise said. “I’m surprised you’d actually tell me, though.”

“Well, I wasn’t planning to, but she’s a fan of yours,” Souji replied. “And you two are very similar.”

Rise laughed. “And here I thought you hated me.” Souji looked at her with concern.

“What?”

“I’m teasing, Souji-kun.” She gave a reassuring smile. “It was a joke. You’re a teenage boy, you’re supposed to hate your mom sometimes.”

Souji grunted. “You’re impossible.” 

After a few minutes of silence, Souji spoke again. “I’ll probably bring her around after school one of these days. Let me know when there’s a day you aren’t working and we’ll plan something out. She’s really excited.”

===

_Lunchtime_

Rio Fujinami had herself convinced that she’d just dreamt of breaking her nose after eating a spike to the face from Suzui-senpai at last night’s practice until she checked her gym bag after practice, discovering a bloody towel in a plastic bag that would definitely need washing. It took her 45 minutes of handwashing to get the bloodstains out, yet she could find any evidence of a cut on her face and her nose felt fine.

So, either she hallucinated so hard that she got a severe nosebleed or her nose _was_ broken and healed immediately afterward.

It wouldn’t be the weirdest thing to happen at the school since the semester started.

Rio wasn’t one of Kamoshida’s victims but she knew of his abuses. Her mom knew of his abuses before Rio had even started at the school; she was a former player on the pro circuit back in the day but had long since retired. Kamoshida was somebody to be avoided, she told her daughter. It was her father that made the decision to have her attend Shujin, with the idea that they could blackmail Kamoshida into leaving Rio alone.

Their idea actually worked. Kamoshida wouldn’t so much as look in her direction for fear of getting ratted out by the Fujinamis. Rio was now in a nationally ranked program for volleyball, but getting no playing time at all. Kamoshida wouldn’t look in her direction for any purpose.

She’d had fights with her parents about it. She hadn’t wanted to go to Shujin in the first place. Her enrollment there was for her parents’ convenience more than anything else. Rio’s mother and father had a shared dream of their only daughter being a professional athlete, following in both of their footsteps.

Regardless of the digression, Rio was sure some fuckery was afoot, so she’d head to the roof, where Shiho and her probably-girlfriend would be hanging out with their merry band of delinquents-and-honor-students. 

She marched upstairs and pushed through the door to the rooftop to find the people she suspected to find plus a little more. Amamiya, Niijima, the long-haired kid she’d only known from the rumors and Shiho and Ann were all sitting around on the old desks stored on the rooftops. Shiho and Ann were holding hands sweetly. ‘Cute,’ Rio thought, before going back to her mission. More surprising then Shiho holding hands with a woman was finding the Yoshizawa twins and that mute soccer player having an animated conversation about Risette. 

They’d all been fairly lost in their conversations. The long-haired kid had noticed her and tried to get Amamiya’s attention but it was this giant blond troublemaker that spoke first. “What’re you doin’ here?”

“Ryuji, ‘hello’ is how we greet people,” Niijima-senpai corrected his manners.

“Rio! What’s up? How’s the nose?” Shiho said, but her smile disappeared when she realized what she said, replaced with a brief look of horror. “I mean, how’s the concussion?”

“I’m fine, I don’t have any symptoms,” Rio replied. “My nose is fine, too. No sign of a break even though I’m _positive_ there was a break. Would you care to speak with me for a second? Privately, if you prefer.”

“Nah, they’ve all heard the story by now,” Shiho said. “But if you want answers, Coach Iori is your best bet.”

Rio sighed. “Fine. But if he won’t tell me anything, tracking you down after school.” 

“Well, we’re always in the same place anyway, so that won’t be hard.” Shiho wasn’t normally this terse with people, so Rio assumed she was barking up the right tree. She turned around and left the roof to eat lunch with her friends.

“I have literally never had this much difficulty keeping a goddamn secret,” Ren laughed at Shiho. 

===

 **MA:** can I join the phantom thieves

 **RA:** you’re old

 **MA:** im experienced

 **RA:** OLD

 **MA:** rude. 

**MA:** I want to fight shadows

 **MA:** please im so bored

 **RA:** go find a boyfriend you old hag

 **MA:** I’m too much for a man. Also the naginata tends to scare them away

 **RA:** that’s fair

 **RA:** you can join but no more women until we get at least two more men

 **MA:** why

 **RA:** I’m tired of being outnumbered. Pretty soon we’re going to be meeting at a crepe shop or a boutique or something

 **MA:** What’s wrong with a crepe shop?

 **RA:** nothing now I want crepes

===

**Ren added Minako to the group chat**

**MA:** INFILTRATION SUCCESSFUL

 **FS:** same

 **FS:** what are we infiltrating

 **MA:** Ren let me join the phantom thieves

 **MN:** oh. You weren’t already in?

 **AG:** yea I assumed you were part of the group

 **MA:** well now it’s official

 **MA:** also I’m crying

 **MA:** I should probably tell Kirijo

 **KY:** wait, like the rich people

 **SY:** why do you all know every famous person

 **KY:** I mean, I’m going to be famous one day. So that’s another.

 **SY:** Not if I do it first

 **AG:** From a media standpoint, wouldn’t you both get famous?

 **AG:** Twin gymnasts? If one got famous, the other probably would

 **AG:** and given Sumire’s Vegeta complex I’d say she’ll either be right behind or right ahead

 **SY:** my what

 **FS:** HAHAHAHAHAH GORO

 **SY:** I’m going to kill Akechi

 **KY:** same

 **RA:** that does seem to be a popular idea lately

===

_After school_

Futaba sat at her computer typing away at something while her mom was in the other room having an argument on the phone with a person Futaba assumed was Mitsuru Kirijo. She’d learned in the past that it was better to not eavesdrop on those calls. Kirijo was very up front in her distaste for Wakaba and while normally Futaba would be quick to take revenge for such a crime, she kind of understood it.

When it came to the metaverse, everything was a game to Wakaba. It was all about the research and what information she could get from it. 

To Kirijo, it was life and death, something at the root of her traumatic experiences. It had taken her father’s life and led her on the road to retribution after the Kirijo Group was found to be at fault for shadow related activity back in 1999. Futaba had also surmised that there was something more Kirijo had lost but she hadn’t quite figured it out until Minako made a comment about her brother.

From what Futaba understood, Ren and Minako were both Wildcards, but the group surrounding Minako apparently had two wildcards. This means the other, presumed to be her brother, is no longer with them. If her brother was as much like Ren as Minako had said, everyone in his life missed him dearly.

Futaba had only known Ren for less than a month, and the thought of something happening to him was enough to plunge her heart into her stomach. She thought about closing her door to avoid the world for a bit, but she knew her habits. If that door closed, she wasn’t leaving for days, maybe weeks, and she was doing her best to combat her hermit ways. 

She was about to fire up the Google machine when her phone rang; “Kana,” the screen read. Futaba answered, now distracted from her developing hypothesis.

===

Shiho had been pulled aside by the first-year she so stupidly broke-and-healed yesterday at the end of practice. She’d been in the process of changing from her volleyball clothes to her school uniform for the trip home and hadn’t yet put on a shirt. It was a tad embarrassing, Shiho had thought, but her girlfriend regularly wore less than a sports bra for photoshoots, so maybe it was time to be a little more comfortable in her own skin.

“What’s up, Rio?” Shiho wasn’t easily intimidated but Rio’s eyes were frightening in a way similar to an angry Makoto’s. It was a weapon for Makoto, but Rio seemed to have naturally angry eyes.

“Coach wouldn’t tell me anything. I just want to know what happened yesterday.”

“First, you don’t want to know the whole story. Second, if I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.” Shiho wasn’t nearly as good at intimidating looks, she realized.

“Fine. Give me the dumb person version of it. I don’t care. Did I break my nose?” Shiho nodded. “Did you heal it?” Shiho nodded. “How did you heal it?”

“I can’t answer that.” 

Rio gave a frustrated look but nodded. “Why did I hear a loud bang? Like a gunshot?”

“I’m as confused by that as you are,” Shiho said truthfully. This first-year was a lot quicker on the uptake than she realized.

“I believe you.” Rio let out a small laugh and shook her head. “You’re going to tell me what happened, eventually.”

“Rio, at this point, I don’t know who we _aren’t_ telling,” Shiho sounded frustrated. “Just keep up the good work in practice. You’ll have to hang out with us sometime. Yoshizawas seem to like you at least.”

“Honestly, who don’t they like?” Rio chuckled.

“Anyone that beats them at anything. It’s fucking annoying.” The two exchanged contact info, then separated.

===

“Sakamoto-kun! Wait!” The girl in the pink cardigan with poofy auburn hair was chasing after Ryuji, who had made his way towards the school gate. He didn’t know her really, at all. Or why she knew his name. He just knew that she was stalking him. Or admiring him from afar. Or something. It was effin’ weird, man.

“Huh? Oh, Okumara-senpai, what is it?” Haru gave a sweet smile. 

“I was just wondering if you could help me with the garden today. And just Haru, please.”

“Okay, Haru. You have to call me Ryuji, though. I prefer that anyway.” He stopped to think. “I’ve got time, I can help with the garden. I don’t have much of a green thumb though.”

Haru gave a small laugh. “Oh, I need you to lift the things I can’t, that’s all. I can teach you how to garden, if you’d like, though.”

Ryuji thought for a second. Gardening wasn’t exactly the manliest thing but a skill like that would make his mom’s life easier. She could save money on produce at the store and she’d probably gush over Ryuji’s new skill, and Ryuji was a sucker for his mother’s praises.

“Yes, I’d love that. My mom will be happy, too.” Haru grabbed his arm and was starting to drag him to the Shujin rooftop when a limo pulled up and a man in a white suit coat and purple shirt got out. His hair was a bit brighter colored than Haru’s; he must have been a foreigner of some kind, Ryuji thought.

“Darling, why are you holding hands with this gorilla?” The man said.

“Hey, buddy, I’m helpin’ her out with the garden,” Ryuji spat the words at the older man. “She was just showin’ me where it is.”

The man grabbed at Haru, gripping her wrist. “You’re coming home with me. We don’t need you interacting with the dregs of society.”

Haru resisted but didn’t speak up. 

“Get off her, man, you’re hurting her.”

“How dare you tell me how to treat my fiance!” The man finally let go but he squared up like he was going to fight Ryuji. Ryuji had quite the weight advantage on the guy and he didn’t seem to be in particularly good shape. He was obviously pampered and he looked like he could be a bit flabby under his clothes. Ryuji almost vomited at the thought. 

Ryuji shifted his feet a bit; he wasn’t great at self defense, but he’d learned a few things from his dad, on the rare occasion he was sober. The man threw a sloppy punch that Ryuji countered easily with a jab that was enough to get the man to back down with a bruised ego and not much else.

“You’ll be paying fo-” Haru interrupted him.

“No, he won’t be!” She shouted. “Now, get out of here, and stop picking fights with high school students, you old perv!” Haru was sure to make a scene. Too many witnesses meant Sugimura couldn’t bullshit his way to a conviction.

He grunted and got back into his limo. He pointed at Ryuji. “I better not see you ever again.”

“Eff off, buddy.”

===

The two made it to the rooftop, neither worse for wear, but Haru was still a bit shaken up at her fiance’s behavior.

“Ryuji, I’m sorry about that.” Haru was downtrodden. “If you want to leave, go ahead. I won’t bother you again.” Ryuji couldn’t believe she was blaming herself for that assbag’s behavior. 

“What? Haru, you didn’t do anything.” Ryuji sat on the ground next to her and put an arm around her. “I don’t know how you can be engaged to that asshole.”

Haru prevented a sob with intent. “It’s not by my choice. It’s to connect our families and allow him to become my father’s heir.”

“That’s not effin’ fair! What year is this?”

…

Haru didn’t speak for a bit before she pushed Ryuji’s arm off her. “I’m sorry, Ryuji, I’m not feeling much like gardening today. Maybe we can try again tomorrow.” She left the rooftop, her plants and a sullen Ryuji behind.

===

_Evening_

Ren waited for Sumire just outside the entrance to the Kichijoji shops when he noticed a solid oak door with a stained glass window in it’s center; Theodore stood outside watching pedestrians go by looking fascinated.

“Theodore, long time no see. How’ve you been?” The blond man wasn’t one for smiling; the only one Ren had ever seen smile was Lavenza. 

“I’ve been well, Trickster. Lavenza misses you. Do you have time?”

“For her? Always.” Ren entered into the Velvet Room.

===

“Trickster!” Ren didn’t get the chance to take in the surroundings of the Velvet Room before he was attacked with a hug from Lavenza. He wasn’t used to such affection from her. He hugged her back.

“Hello to you too, Lavenza.” They broke their embrace and sat down in front of the fireplace. Igor was nowhere to be found. 

“Master says you have been doing very well,” Lavenza said as eagerly as was allowed. “You’re well on your way to escaping this gloomy fate.”

Ren smiled, a genuine one. So often, he felt his smiles were hollow, a way to reassure other people or to put them at ease. To get confirmation that things were indeed going better this time was wonderful.  
“Have you guys found what’s causing the loop?”

“We haven’t. But I think you finding out for yourself is the point of the game.” Lavenza said this with the sadness in her voice Ren was used to.

“Well, not everything’s easy, I suppose.”

“No. It never is for a trickster.” Ren exited the Velvet Room after this exchange to find Sumire standing near the entrance of the Velvet Room looking lost in thought.

===

“Sumire,” Ren said, tapping her shoulder and breaking her trance.

“Senpai! There you are. I was worried you were running late.” She did look a bit sweaty, now that Ren thought about it. 

“I’m sorry I worried you.” Ren looked at her again. She looked nice today, wearing a different outfit than Ren had seen before. Actually, it was the same outfit she wore in the batting cage drea: A bright light blue polka dot top with a matching skirt. “You look beautiful, Sumire.”

“Oh, Senpai, thank you. Ann helped me pick out this outfit. She’s so helpful!” She didn’t blush nearly as much as Ren had expected. It must have been a good day for her. “So, what’s the plan?”

“Well, there’s a jazz club down the way here that I wanted to try. They let minors in but we can’t drink, which I don’t think we would anyway.”

“That sounds classy, Senpai.” 

The two walked their way through Kichijoji holding hands, Sumire standing a bit closer than she needed to. She’d occasionally lean her head against Ren’s shoulder as they walked, but the position was difficult to hold while walking. “You smell nice, Senpai.” She made a show of sniffing his shirt. “Like good coffee and cologne.”

“Yes, it’s the perk of living in the attic of a coffee shop,” Ren laughed. They approached the jazz club and made it downstairs. Ren had only been here once or twice and he was always struck by the warm atmosphere and the relaxing sounds. It was more than just the music; whoever designed this club knew exactly what they were doing. It felt less like Japan and more like what Ren would expect from a movie based in 1920s New York. 

“This feels like a place my dad would take a business partner to,” Sumire said with a smile. “I never thought my first date ever would be somewhere this classy.”

The two ordered their fancy drinks and just relaxed, listening to music that Ren thought was familiar, even though he couldn’t place it. _Where have you been?_ _Been searching all along_ … He wasn’t sure if he’d heard it before, but he thought he’d love to hear it again. It made him feel at home. 

“Senpai, are you okay?” Ren had really been focusing on the song. He must’ve been quiet for too long.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just really liked that song. It really made me feel at peace, for some reason.” Sumire nodded.

“I know what you mean. It felt prescient.” Ren gave her an odd glance. “Uh, it means having a knowledge of the future.”

“I know what it means, I’m just surprised to hear you using it. Spy novels?”

“Yes! I’ve been reading…” and from there, Ren listened with rapt attention to Sumire’s description of the book she’s reading. 

As he listened, Ren had only one stray thought: He was thrilled he threw the ‘no dating’ thing out the window. Maybe he was crazy, but he could see listening to Sumire for a lifetime. 

Multiple lifetimes, if it was necessary.

===

_Friday, May 6th, Morning_

Minako was having another bad morning. Nightmares were again causing problems but this time it wasn’t her own. She woke up to a voicemail from her ex-boyfriend in tears. They hadn’t spoken in a couple years but they’d been in the same room a few times; their work for Kirijo made occasional interaction unavoidable.

“Minako, I had that dream about Shinji again.” Minako sighed. She told him to call her if it ever came up again. Shinjiro’s near-death experience caused her and Akihiko more problems than they caused Shinji. He couldn’t remember a blip of it, so to him, there was no trauma. Him and Ken got off scot-free. 

Minako dialed the phone. Aki answered. “Hey.”

“Hey yourself.” She replied curtly. “Have you talked to Shinji about it?”

“You know I can’t do that.”

“No, I don’t know you can’t do that. You need to. It’s been fucking years Aki. And now you just call in the middle of the night?”

“I know. I know I need to say something.”

“Please, for both of our sakes, say something. We might be able at least be friends again if you’d just fucking address this.” She hung up without another word. He’s such a stubborn fucking dick.

‘God, I miss that fucking piece of garbage,’ she thought. 

===

_Lunchtime_

“Ren Amamiya, please report to the faculty office.” A voice came over the intercom as Ren had started up towards the roof.

Already on the right floor, it was a short trip. He expected Kawakami to be the one who called him and she was correct.

“Can you not use the intercom? Calling me to the office is going to start the rumor mill again.” He sounded annoyed but his facial expression told Kawakami that he wasn’t.

The faculty office was empty for lunch time. They had a separate break room that everyone ate in. Kawakami preferred to eat alone as to not be annoyed by some of her nosier colleagues.

“Sorry, I didn’t think about that. I just want to make sure you’re okay for tonight, still. I need to know you’re being serious.” 

“I’m always serious, Miss Kawakami. I’m no Joker,” he gave her a smug grin.

She sighed in annoyance. “I’ll see you in class, Amamiya-kun. Stay out of trouble.”

“Me? Trouble? Never.”

===

 **MA:** Practice!!!

 **KY:** PRACTICE!!!

 **SY:** practice

 **SY:** sorry I’m still tired

 **KY:** Ren kept her up all night

 **SY:** KASUMI

 **SY:** that’s not what it sounds like

 **MA:** no judgment here. My ex kept me up all night

 **KY:** Do we need to have the talk?

 **SY:** With me or coach

 **KY:** Yes.

 **MA:** Practice will be fun, then.

===

The twins arrived at the gym to find Minako already there in the weight room, working up a storm. It was equal parts impressive and scary; Kasumi hadn’t realized it was possible for a woman smaller than her to lift that much weight. They watched in awe as Minako went from station to station, letting out frustrated grunts as she strained under the weight. She eventually stopped, looked at the twins and grinned. Minako looked around to see if anyone was looking; after the coast was clear, a figure appeared behind her, Minako uttering “diarama.” 

“Did you just cast a healing spell after a workout?”

“Yep! I do it after all of them.” She grinned.

“Wait, is that why ever since you got here we’re never tired after practice?” Minako didn’t reply.

“It’s a trade secret.”

“How did you summon in the real world?”

“Practice. Lots of practice. Oh, yeah. Trauma, that really helped, too.”

“That seems counterproductive,” Sumire added.

“Yes, very counterproductive, but I’ll trade the ability to get a good night’s sleep for super powers.” She thought for a second. “I’m also scared of trains and a specific kind of door. Love hotels are also a big no for me. ”And Cold War era bunkers. It’s still a fair trade.”

“Sumire?”

“Yes, Kasumi?”

“Should we take Coach to St. Mungo’s?”

“ _You actually read the books I gave you_?” Then Sumire thought for a second. “Can I have them back?”

“No, I’m reading them through again.”

===

There was no surprise on Ren’s face when Miss Kawakami showed up to LeBlanc later that night dressed as a maid. Sadayo wasn’t quite sure why she expected him to be surprised. Maybe it was the fact that she was still begging the gods that this was a prank. The fact that he let her into the cafe, gave her a friendly smile and made her a cup of coffee meant that this wasn’t a prank. 

“Kawakami-sensei, I swear, I’m not going to rat you out.” He had said this at least four times. “I noticed you looked tired constantly and I’m worried you might get sick.”

Sadayo glared incredulously at the frizzy haired transfer student. 

“I’m fine…” Nobody had asked in awhile. And he wasn’t being creepy. He didn’t ask her to clean, cook or anything. He only wanted to make sure she was okay. “I’m working a second job for my sister.”

“No. None of that crap.” He looked at her. It was a bit fatherly, Sadayo thought. Except he was her student. ‘I’m going to go home, drown in vodka, and sleep for a year.’ “Why are you _really_ working an extra job?”

“The family of a kid I used to teach…” she started. She shared the whole story of Takase, a troubled student working multiple jobs who she cared a lot for. Ren reacted to the story only after she was finished.

“It’s a shame you’re getting extorted for being there when somebody needed you.” That was his reply.

“It is.”

“I think our time is almost up. But if you need a nap or anything, I’ll get extra time. I don’t mind helping out. Money isn’t an issue.”

Sadayo didn’t say anything back for a little bit.

“Why?”

“There’s a whole lot of shit wrong at that school, Sadayo. Your story is just one of them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rio isn't the only original character that will be in this story, but she is the first. She's not exactly original though and let me explain why. She's a nod to two of my favorite guilty pleasures: Joker is a girl AUs and the song Rio by Duran Duran, which is what was playing when I got the idea to add in an OC. I'm using her to help create a catalyst for development for a few characters that never got any. Shiho, for example.
> 
> The next couple of chapters will be up in the next few days: I'm sitting on about 4 chapters that are ready to publish, but I don't want to put them up all at once. It's a lot of words (it pushes this fic up to about 105,000 words) and I don't think anyone should be reading them all at once. 
> 
> From here on out, I'm trying to make an effort to be better about using "Goro" instead of "Akechi" because he's actually friends with them in this story. I'm so used to him being called Akechi that I didn't realize it was his surname. 
> 
> Anyway, thank you for reading! The next few chapters are a bumpy ride in the best way possible, and I hope you like reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.


	17. Siderodromophobia

_ Saturday, May 7th, After School _

No volleyball practice for Rio meant she got to go home early and relax for a bit. Her mom and dad wouldn’t be off work for until later, meaning she could watch television to her heart’s content before they got home and bitched about her not doing her homework. She sighed. Practice, even under Kamoshida, was an escape. Physical abuse is at least tangible, she thought.

She’d made it to the station and waited for her train to arrive when she was called out by Shiho.

“Rio!” Ah. ‘So much for a relaxing night.’

“What’s up?” Rio knew she shouldn’t be terse with them. Shiho was as nice about everything that happened as she could be, and given Shiho was normally quick to give everyone shit, Rio was at least a little grateful.

“Heading over to Shiho’s, want to come with?” Ann replied before Shiho could say anything. 

“Yeah, you’re more than welcome to join,” Shiho replied, although there was some annoyance in her voice. Rio thought, at first, that it was malice towards herself, then realized that Shiho was probably going to make a move on Ann. ‘Fuck you, Shiho. No fun allowed.’

“Yeah, I’ll come along. That sounds like fun!” Rio replied with a little more joy than she meant to. She didn’t have anything to do anyway, plus making friends with second-years was a rare opportunity for her. Shiho was bound to be a captain on the volleyball team next year, so maybe some schmoozing was in order, anyway. ‘Or, I could also not be an asshole and be genuinely friendly. Specifically, I could do myself a favor and not act like my mother.’

They boarded the train and made their way towards Shiho’s parents home, a large apartment in a heavily populated building in Nishihara. The train was too crowded for them to have any conversation on the way over but once they got off and started their short walk to the apartment, Rio realized just how friendly Ann was. She didn’t expect it.

“How’re the injuries?” Ann asked. She wouldn’t beat around the bush like Shiho. Perhaps because it was Shiho’s embarrassment and not her own, Rio thought. 

“They’re good, somebody seemed to fix them right up and they won’t tell me how,” she tried to sound playful, but to top it off, she stuck her tongue out at Shiho.

“Yeah, yeah. You still wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Right, try me. Nobody gets a nose broken and it just magically heals.”

“Hey, you almost got it right. You’re smarter than I thought!” Ann started laughing at her own quip but Shiho just looked at her with a horrified expression. “What? Technically, it was probably magic.”

“What, exactly, are you saying, Takamaki-san?” Rio wasn’t about to believe it was actual magic.

“Well, I’m just saying that Shiho has a  _ magic _ touch. It always makes me feel good, at least.” Shiho’s face was so red that she could have been mistaken for Sumire at that moment. Rio’s composure broke, laughing so hard at seeing Shiho thrown off her game that she had to stop walking and sit down. 

“That was the  _ worst _ line I have ever heard in my life,” Rio said.

“Oh. You should hang out with Ren and Sumire. It’s even worse.” Shiho had calmed down by then.

“Eh. Try Goro. At least Ren’s comments make sense. Akechi is just flailing half the time,” Ann pointed out.

“Who’s Goro?” Rio knew most of the people they spoke of, but that was a new name.

“He’s the long-haired guy you saw on the roof. Really nice kid. Pretty quiet, even around us.” Ann looked sad. “The rumors haven’t been kind to him lately.”

“‘Nice kid’; he’s older than you, Ann.” Shiho snorted.

“Given the only thing I’ve heard about him is that he’s a murderer and a career criminal, and possibly homeless, I’m going to agree that the rumors aren’t kind.” Rio felt bad. She didn’t think Ann was lying and now the guilt of believing the rumor was eating at her. He was at least well-behaved, from what she gathered. “I’ll be sure to tell people to shut up next time I hear it.”

“I’d be careful about that, they’ll accuse you of having a crush on a criminal.” Ann had been the victim of the rumor mill time and time again, although the most recent rumor about her dating Shiho had been correct.

“Oh, I don’t think that’ll be an issue. You guys don’t pay attention to the rumors about me, I’m guessing.” Rio wasn’t really upset about the rumors because it was ultimately harmless. Some people used it to bully her but she was pretty good at defending herself, both verbally and physically. The most that ever came out of this rumor was a pervy first year asking if she’d be part of a threesome. Gross.

“Sorry, Rio, I haven’t heard anything about you at all. Erm, maybe sorry is the wrong word.” Ann stammered a little.

“Oh, don’t worry. It’s similar to the rumor about you two.” Rio sighed. “I was caught staring at Niijima-Senpai’s ass during aikido lessons one day.” ‘Why is that so easy to say?’ Rio supposed the shame of getting caught wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened. “Apparently, I’m a ‘raging mega-dyke’ now. Their words, not mine.”

“God, that’s awful,” Ann said, but Shiho had something else to say.

“Niijima really does have a great ass though.”

“It’s fucking superb. I’m not into girls, though. I just appreciate a good butt.”

“Seriously, people get too caught up in that.” Ann replied. “Like, have you actually  _ seen _ Ren’s butt? I don’t think he’s ever missed leg day.” 

“Breathe, Ann. Deep breaths, in and out.” Shiho laughed. She wasn’t about to get self conscious over that. Ren was taken, anyway. “Anyway, before you two horndogs get any further into your conversation, my parents might be home.”

They made it to Shiho’s door when she realized that, in fact, nobody was home and she hadn’t brought her key.

“Fuck.” 

“What?”

“I forgot my key. It’s sitting on my desk in my room.” Shiho lightly hit her head against the door. “I’m a fucking idiot.”

Rio laughed. “It’s kind of funny, though. This happens to my mom a lot.” She thought about the time her parents had a massive fight because Rio was at volleyball practice and they had both forgotten their keys. Fighting wasn’t unusual in that house but this one was particularly childish and Rio relished that.

“Let’s just go to LeBlanc,” Ann said. “I’m up for some coffee, anyway. I think everyone else is studying there, so we should probably head there anyway.”

Rio raised her hand. “I vote coffee. I’ll never not vote coffee.” The studying? Not so much.

===

Ren had made it to LeBlanc with no plans; he decided the best use of his time was to help everyone study for finals. Everyone except Ann and Shiho had showed up; they’d planned an afternoon together, since they finally had a day where Shiho didn’t have practice and Ann didn’t have a photo shoot. 

**SS:** Change of plans. We’re coming to LeBlanc

**AT:** Rio is coming too

**MA:** Ren says okay

**SS:** Why are you even there?

**MA:** Yukari got sick of my shit and needed alone time.

**KY:** Wow, imagine that

**MA:** Take a lap

**KY:** Fuck off

**RS:** language

**KY:** Fuck you.

Ren laughed at the exchange. He didn’t remember Ryuji being a stickler for swearing before but he also specifically remembered him not liking the f-word, so it at least sort of made sense. 

He was finishing up coffee for everyone while they all started pulling out their books. Minako was surprisingly helpful; Ren knew she was smart but high school was a long time ago for her.

“I’m not quite eidetic but I’m close. Minato is, though. He’s never forgotten a thing in his life.” Nobody corrected her use of the present tense.

Futaba wasn’t much help in the actual studying department but she had pulled up all the test answers on her computer, earning her a nasty look from Makoto, who forced her to delete the files and shut down the laptop.

“Queen is no fun at all.” Everyone else nodded.

“Nobody was going to believe Ryuji or Ren getting a grade higher than a D.” Makoto said.

“Excuse you, but I bet I beat your scores on this first exam, Miss Not A Time Traveler,” Ren retorted.

“Oh. See, that’s not fair. That’s cheating, too.”

“If I could stop it, I would!” 

“Ah. Yeah. That’s fair.”

The group had been studying diligently for about thirty minutes when they heard an eruption of screeching metal coming from the direction of the train station.

===

“No. This can’t be happening,” Rio said out loud. This train wasn’t as crowded as the last. The three girls were able to sit near each other. It would have been relaxing, if the train weren’t barrelling down the tunnel at triple the speed it was supposed to. Rio, Ann and Shiho braced themselves against each other, huddled against the wall as they approached what they were sure would be their death. 

Rio could barely hear anything over the train’s screeching but as it approached the mouth of Yongen-Jaya station, she swore she heard a tearful Shiho shout “Eris! Tetrakarn!”

To her shock, she didn’t black out. Nothing hurt. She still felt Ann and Shiho’s warmth against her and she swore she saw a figure with a purple dress and dark hair over them briefly before it disappeared. The train around them was completely demolished like an explosion came from the inside. She could see out of the station’s roof from inside the car. 

She looked at Shiho. Then at Ann. 

Then she passed out.

===

“Shiho!” Ann shouted as her girlfriend called for her Persona in the real world. She had expected it to be her last words. She dropped her head, covered it and braced for impact, expecting to have had taken her last breaths.

She looked up and noticed the sky through the roof of the train, like it had been blown off.

She was alive. And Shiho had summoned her Persona in real life.

Ann was now going to have to drag two unconscious friends out of the train. One unconscious from summoning in real life and the other unconscious from having seen it.

Ann tugged at both the girls shirts and jostled them around a bit trying to get them to wake up. She might have been able to carry Rio but there was no way Shiho was getting carried. She reached down and pulled Rio over her shoulder, carrying her like a sack of potatoes. ‘I’m so happy she’s light.’ Getting Shiho up was more difficult, but she was able to get her arm around her. She wasn’t lifted, but Ann got Shiho’s legs on the ground in the right position to drag her off the train and onto the demolished platform. She collapsed from exhaustion once she got the girls off the train.

===

Ren knew the three girls were on their way to Yongen-Jaya and he sprinted out the door followed by everyone else. Ryuji and Makoto were able to match pace but they didn’t see Ren when they arrived. It was a warzone. 

There were fires everywhere, a dozen cop cars and at least 4 fire trucks with more arriving at the scene. The three Phantom Thieves weren’t allowed anywhere near the scene. Ambulances were pulling up in droves.

“Please, sir, I think my friend was on that train!” Ren fought back tears. He had to do something.

“Kid, I’m sorry. I don’t think anyone was surviving that.” The firefighter’s expression was one of deep sadness. “I’m so sorry.”

“Sir, we found survivors!” A joyous man came sprinting up. “You’ve got to see this! It’s a miracle!” The firefighter took off with the messenger. Ren followed before anyone told him he couldn’t. He didn’t get close enough to be in danger. What he could see were fallen pillars, a skylight where there shouldn’t have been one, and a mess of gnarled train cars. He tried to block out the numerous corpses and failed, but he was able to keep the vomit down. It wasn’t the worst thing he’d seen in his life. It wasn’t the worst thing he’d seen in two weeks. Nothing was worse than Kamoshida. This was close, though. The twisted steel was one thing, but caved in skulls and limbs twisted every which direction were another. Ren couldn’t help but think of the families of those lost. He couldn’t help but think of his chosen family.

When he got close, his heart leapt. Three girls, unconscious, huddled together and unhurt. Shiho, Ann and Rio. Breathing. Rio was starting to stir first.

“Both of you need to get back!” One of the firefighters working on getting the girls away from the rubble yelled. Ren looked behind him to see that a man with a large camera and a press pass around his neck was standing there taking photos of the wreckage. They both walked back to where they knew they wouldn’t get in trouble.

“Are you okay?” The man who Ren presumed was a journalist asked.

“Those three girls they found alive were my friends.” Ren hadn’t started crying yet.

“Oh. Oh, wow. Wow! That’s incredible.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card, handing it to Ren. “I have to go and I’m not going to bother you right now. This isn’t easy. But if you want to talk on record, call me. Or if you need to talk, in general, call me. You might need some help after this.”

Ren pocketed the business card without a thought. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

About 10 feet away from the station was a bench Ren had sat in numerous times before trying to think plans through before school. This time, he sat there thinking of nothing. He let the relief wash over him that Ann and Shiho were alive. Then he let the sorrow wash over him that, yet again, another mental shutdown had claimed the lives of hundreds. Maybe thousands. Ren didn’t know the damage yet. “What’s the point of saving myself if I can’t save them?” And he sobbed. 

===

The remaining Thieves, Goro, Futaba, Sumire, Kasumi and Minako, had followed but were stopped by the police blocking the usual entrance to the station. Futaba knew a shortcut that would take them around the blockade through an alley, which worked, and brought them out right next to a sobbing Ren.

Nobody said a word.

“They’re alive.” Ren stopped for a second. “Ann and Shiho, I mean. Rio, too.” He choked out another sob. “Nobody else is.” Nobody spoke. Sumire sat next to him, took his hand and put her head on his shoulder.

Ryuji and Makoto made their way back to the rest of the Thieves. Everyone was silent for a little while.

Goro was the first to speak up.

“This was no accident.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this happened. 
> 
> And on to the next arc.


	18. The Legend of Dr. Takemi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING:  
> Parental abuse and overall ass hattery

_Saturday, May 7th, After School_

Takemi hadn’t been in her clinic since the day Goro was abducted by the police.

She started referring to it as an abduction because that’s what it was, in the literal sense. He wasn’t being charged, he wasn’t a suspect and he wasn’t connected. He had an inconvenient relation to a man in power who probably ordered the murder and didn’t have a good alibi. 

This made her research finding a cure for Miwa-chan had stalled; she really couldn’t afford to have it stall any longer.

She decided to head back to her clinic in Yongen-Jaya against her better judgment; her car was still parked out back, anyway.

The train after hers was the one where nearly everyone died. 

‘If that’s not a sign, I don’t know what is.’ Tae wasn’t religious and she didn’t care for mythology but she wasn’t stupid. She was fine thinking there was something bigger than her at play. With everything that had changed in her life since she adopted that teenage vagrant, supernatural forces just _had_ to be at play. 

Her phone started blowing up within minutes of the train crash. The medic that called said it was a suspected mental shutdown. The conductor was dead on impact, a tar-like substance left on his eyes and mouth. They had called to ask Takemi if she knew of any substance like that. ‘Heroin, but I don’t think this is heroin.’

Despite all the craziness just a block away, Tae didn’t have much to do. Her guinea pigs were either studying for finals, _or_ they were out fighting whatever caused the mental shutdown. That meant Goro would be in the middle of yet another sticky situation that she didn’t want to think about. 

She pulled out her phone; she should at least text Goro to make sure he’s okay.

 **TT:** Goro, are you okay?

 **GA:** I am well. Three of our friends were on the train. May we bring them by?

 **TT:** What? Yes, that’s fine.

 **TT:** They’re alive?

 **GA:** A miracle occurred. They were already checked by the on scene medics but you’re more used to the type of miracle.

 **TT:** PT stuff?

 **GA:** somehow. Yes.

 **TT:** ight.

===

Ren had Rio over his shoulder and Ryuji had Shiho over his; Ann had woken up, able to walk with some assistance from Makoto. Goro followed behind in case she fell backwards for any reason. All of the Phantom Thieves walked through the front doors of Tae Takemi’s office, where she was waiting. She immediately shut off her music, which was unusual for her until Ren had a realization. Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” was playing when they got there. Only him, Goro and Ann would have realized, probably but it was still in bad taste. He was glad Takemi realized her mistake. 

Ren went back into the exam room with all three; he’d be able to relay the information Tae needed. “Ann, Shiho and Rio,” he listed their names in the order they were sitting. He’d had them in the chairs meant for those accompanying patients in the room. “They’re unhurt as far as we know. Ann has been awake for a little bit. Shiho is probably exhausted because she used her Persona in the real world, which we didn’t really know was possible. Rio, I have no idea why she passed out, but it probably had to do with seeing a giant woman in a purple dress fight a train. I just want to make sure they’re okay, and there’s nothing weird going on.”

“That’s… not a lot to go on, Ren.”

“I know, Tae, but please, just do something.” Ann spoke up.

“Ren, I’m fine. Nothing hurts. I’m just a little tired.” She let out a yawn. The adrenaline had worn off and Ren wasn’t sure she’d be capable of walking back to LeBlanc.

“Well, that’s a start.”

Ren left the room to allow Tae to examine the three girls.

===

Rio jumped in her chair when she realized there was a pale, black-haired woman feeling her kneecaps and checking for swelling.

“You’re awake.” This doctor was different than she’d ever seen. Black hair, a spiked choker and a green spiderweb dress were her choice of clothing under her lab coat. “I’m Dr. Takemi. You were brought here by your friends.”

“Friends…” She thought for a second. “Oh! Are Ann and Shiho okay?”

“Right here, Rio. Shiho’s still out but she’ll be fine.”

“But now that you’re awake, we can check for a concussion.” The doctor shined a light in her eyes to check for dilation, asked her how many fingers she was holding up and felt her head for any bumps. There weren’t any. “Well.” Tae took a second to gather herself. “I don’t know what the fuck happened. But you three are fine.”

“How bad was it?”

“I’m the wrong person to ask.” Takemi said. Ann was about to interject when Rio spoke up.

“Don’t sugarcoat it. What I remember was a disaster. I’d rather not be lied to right now.” Rio was having a hard time looking intimidating right now. She was just so tired.

“Okay. Everyone on that train besides you three died. It pulled into the station at around three times it’s usual top speed. I’m not religious, but whatever god you think might be real? Find a shrine. All three of you should be dead.”

Rio nodded, and started crying. Survivor guilt was setting in.

“I-I-I need to call my mom.” Ann handed Rio her bag and she dug out her phone. It was completely undamaged. She had a dozen missed calls, all from her mother, and nearly thirty missed text messages asking where she was at. She was supposed to be home by now. 

She scrolled through her contacts and selected “Mom,” unsure of what to expect. 

“Rio? You better have a damn good explanation as to why you aren’t home right now.” Great. She was starting off angry.

“Mom, I’m at a clinic in Yongen-Jaya.”

“How the hell did you end up all the way out there?” She paused. “Isn’t that where the train just crashed?”

“I was with friends. We were going to study and get coffee.” Rio wasn’t sure how capable she was of retelling the story of the train. “We were on the train that crashed, mom.”

Her mom didn’t say anything at first. “If you’re going to lie, please come up with a good one. Don’t bother coming home tonight.” She hung up the phone before Rio could reply.

Tae looked at her with concern. “Need a place to stay?”

===

They laid Shiho down in Ren’s bed while Ann took the sofa, for now. Ren was waiting for Boss to come by with the car so they could get the girls home. Sumire was going to stay with Ren for the night and Yu was coming to pick up Kasumi. It was funny how things worked out, Ren thought. He was just given Yu’s number within the last couple of hours.

The twins’ father was called into work to cover the crash; he was distraught to discover his daughters were in Yongen-Jaya and relieved to discover they were safe. It was the first time Ren had ever spoken to him. 

It wasn’t the best way to meet his girlfriend’s father, but he supposed it made a strong first impression. Joker always made a better impression than Ren ever did, and since the crash, Ren couldn’t be anything besides Joker. Ren would break down. Joker would take action.

The rest of the Thieves had left by now. Goro headed back to the safehouse with Takemi and Rio. Haru, who Ryuji had been texting constantly the last couple days, came to pick up Makoto and Ryuji in a limo. 

Boss came by and Sumire helped Ren get the two girls into the car; Ann took the front seat and Ren wanted to joke with Boss about how he finally had a woman in the passenger seat but he decided against it. Shiho was laid across the back seat. “Thank you, Boss,” Ren said. Sojiro normally wasn’t very warm with Ren at this point in the timeline. 

“No problem, kid. You two stay out of trouble ‘til I get back.”

“So we can be trouble when you get back?”

“Stay out of trouble,” he replied, tersely. 

Yu showed up about ten minutes later. 

“We have to stop meeting like this,” he joked with Ren, who gave a polite laugh but didn’t really find it funny. “I didn’t realize who you were back there. It makes sense, now, that your friends were the ones who survived.” 

Ren didn’t reply immediately but Minako interrupted a stray thought. “He’s the other wildcard,” she blurted. “We were trying to get everyone together to meet at once. He’s the one you needed to meet.”

Ren’s eyebrows raised. “The other Wildcard was Souji’s older brother?”

“Remember all that stuff Naoto said about coincidences? They aren’t real. Not for us.”

Yu smiled. Ren realized this was somebody who might be annoyingly happy all the time. “You met Naoto? Isn’t she just the coolest? I’m trying to convince her to marry Kanji-” Minako grabbed his ear.

“He just nearly lost three friends to a train. He doesn’t want to hear your gossip!” 

“Actually, I kind of wanted to hear the go-” 

“You aren’t helping!”

Kasumi had been listening to the two interact, trying to connect the puzzle pieces. “So, that thing Ren can do with the multiple Personas, you can do, too?” Yu nodded. “And Minako can do?” Minako nodded.

They expected Kasumi to be impressed.

“What is this bullshit? I finally get a Persona and you guys can have several? I call hacks!” What Sumire said next poured gasoline on the fire.

“Well, Kasumi, I guess you just aren’t as great as we all thought. You should just try harder.”

“I’ll kill you!” She started making her way towards Sumire when Ren got between the two.

“She’s just getting you riled up and you know it.” He gave her a glare.

“Fine. I won’t kill her.” She looked down. “Yet.” Ren looked her in the eye.

“No killing. Ever.” He was serious.

“ _Joker_ , I wasn’t actually going to kill her. Calm down.” He didn’t like her weaponizing his codename. 

“Alright, Kasumi, Souji, I think we should hit the old dusty trail.” Minako laughed at Yu’s expression. 

===

It had been a little while. The reason Minako wasn’t leaving is because she didn’t feel safe leaving Sumire alone with Ren. She could practically see his mask in the real world.

“I’m calling Wakaba.” Minako said. “You need to calm down and talking to her isn’t going to fix it.”

Ren nodded. “You’re right.”

“Her guy has gone too far. We either take him down in the metaverse or in real life. I don’t care which.”

“No killing.”

“No killing,” Minako repeated, not in agreeance, but as if she were mulling over the meaning of the words. 

Sumire felt like she was sitting in the room with two mob bosses, instead of two Wildcards.

===

“What do you _mean_ it wasn’t your guy?” Minako shouted into her phone. This wasn’t going as planned.

“ _I mean he’s just as furious as you!_ ” Wakaba could have been overheard by anyone, if Minako hadn’t gone upstairs to make the call, letting Ren make a few cups of coffee and attempt to calm down. “He’s conducting his own investigation. Shido claimed he didn’t call for a shutdown. Maruki quit on Shido within an hour of the accident and he’s taking him down within the week.”

Minako didn’t reply.

“Morgana and I are helping. We could really use a navigator.”

“You aren’t taking Futaba?”

“We’d rather the Phantom Thieves not find out. I know they have a vendetta against him.”

“Fuck that, and fuck you. Maruki doesn’t get his revenge while somebody Shido _actually wronged_ sits here trying to keep his friends alive.”

Meanwhile, Futaba was sending a recording of the phone conversation to the group chat.

===

Minako wasn’t going to cry. There was no point to it. She didn’t know how to break the news to Ren.

“That motherfucker!” She heard from downstairs.

She checked her own phone.

“Oh. Thanks for making it easy, Gremlin.”

She was only extremely freaked out when Futaba texted her, “no problem.” Minako walked downstairs.

“We’re starting prep work on an infiltration tomorrow,” Ren told her. “We aren’t strong enough to do this yet, but we have numbers. Bring your strongest Personas. If you need money for it, I’ll give you money.”

===

The door opened and Takemi, Goro and their newcomer trudged into the safehouse’s kitchen. Goro opened the fridge and pulled out some meat and veggies to make a stew of some sort. He wasn’t the best cook, but he was better than Tae and at one point learned that most things could be turned into an edible stew if cooked right. 

Rio went and sat at the table across from Takemi, who was examining the jacket that Kanji had been sewing when Goro walked in the other day. It was black denim with silver buttons that created a contrast, and it was covered in patches from bands Rio assumed Takemi liked.

Not all of the patches had names attached to them, but some of them Rio and her limited English could read a few of the names: Bad Religion, Rancid, Johnny Hobo and the Freight Trains. That last one was a little too on the nose for the day Rio had had.

“That jacket is really cool, Takemi-san,” Rio spoke up. She just needed normal conversation for once. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of those bands before, though.”

“There’s a lot that I picked up from studying abroad,” Takemi said, still admiring Kanji’s patch work. “People around here could learn a thing or two from them, if only they understood the language.”

“Like what?”

“Well, rebellion is a big part of it. That was it, for me at least. A lot of these songs are about not following rules, being there for your friends, or um, peeing on your boss. I’m my own boss, so I don’t do that one.” Rio let out a laugh at that. “Some of them get goofy but there’s some self-accountability lessons to be learned, I think. Not everyone needs a steady job to be happy, or needs a marriage, or a family. It’s about freedom.”

Rio looked at her with stars in her eyes. She felt inspired by the doctor’s words. “You should write that down somewhere.”

“I would, but I’m pretty sure there are a million people who have said the same thing.”

Goro yelled from the kitchen. “Camus!”

“Right!” Takemi recalled the book she’d stolen from Goro. “Albert Camus, for one. I think I still have the book, if Goro doesn’t mind me lending it to you.”

“I don’t know, I’m not much of a reader.” Takemi laughed. 

“Understandable. I wasn’t until after medical school.”

Goro placed three bowls of some soup that looked edible on the table.

“It’s not great. But it’s what you get when you learn how to cook at a homeless shelter.”

“Wait, that rumor is true?” Rio asked before realizing what she said.

But Goro replied with a smile. “It’s the only one that’s true. But I’m really happy to be back in school, no matter what my peers say. I’m excited to show off in exams this week.”

Rio nodded politely. “I’m excited, too. If my grades improve my paren- er, sorry. Nevermind.”

Goro was about to pry but Takemi stopped him.

“Are you safe at home?” Rio nodded. Takemi pulled a business card out of the jacket, which she had hung up on the chair she was sitting in. “If you ever feel like you aren’t, give me a call. What’s another kid?”

Rio laughed. She really liked Takemi. The conversation was kept light all night and Takemi escorted her to a spare bedroom that wasn’t being used. Rio hadn’t even thought about the train incident as she fell asleep.

===

Yukari came to pick Minako up and stayed for a cup of coffee but they shortly after. 

Ren was left alone with Sumire, who was yawning every few minutes, signifying that she was probably ready for bed. Ren was exhausted, but he’d let her have his bed. The sofa wasn’t uncomfortable, and he’d slept on it many times before. 

“Senpai, I don’t have any pajamas!” Ren laughed at Sumire, who acted like that was possibly the end of everything. “How will I sleep?”

“I have spare clothes, Sumire.” Ren thought of her wearing one of his shirts. ‘Brain, I’m warning you. Stop it.’ “You can probably wear one of my old t-shirts. It should be long enough you won’t need pants.”

“Oh, good plan. That sounds cozy.” She gave him a sleepy smile that melted his heart. He couldn’t believe he was angry beyond comprehension just a few hours ago. He’d gone upstairs to change into his pajamas first, a pair of green pants and a t-shirt. He’d laid out a shirt and a pair of shorts for Sumire, if she wanted them. She’d text him when he could come up.

He waited a couple minutes when his phone buzzed and he went upstairs. He sat down on the sofa and was about to lay back when Sumire, who was already settled in his bed, interrupted his plans for sleep.

“Senpai, we could snuggle for a bit, right?” She pleaded. Ren wasn’t about to pass that up. He slid into bed next to her and she shifted to her side, facing the window, him behind her, her head a bit below his but not enough to avoid having a little hair in his face. It was only supposed to be for a bit, but they were both asleep within a few minutes. They spent the whole night that way.

===

_Sunday, May 8th_

It took Ann some convincing to let Sojiro leave Shiho at her house. Shiho’s parents were contacted and they were okay with the sleepover, not realizing Shiho had been involved in the train accident. It was a lie Ann was okay telling. She wasn’t sure she was capable of being alone, even if Shiho was sleeping.

Shiho must have woken up before Ann, because the first thing Ann heard in the morning was a tearful conversation Shiho was having with her mother. 

“Mom, she wasn’t thinking clearly.” Shiho tried to calm her mother down. “We nearly died and she didn’t want to be alone. And she probably wanted me to be the one to tell you what happened! I’m sorry!”

It was a losing battle. Shiho’s mother was furious that Ann hadn’t told her what happened. Ann could only hope that she would calm down. Mrs. Suzui wasn’t normally an angry person.

“Okay, mom. I’m sorry.” Ann could no longer hear another voice on the other side, so she assumed Shiho’s mom had calmed. “Okay. I’ll tell her. And yes, I’ll tell her you understand. Okay. Love you. Bye.”

Shiho hadn’t realized Ann was awake yet.

“Your mom mad?” Ann said. Her voice still featured sleep. 

“She calmed down. I think she’s just scared.” Ann nodded.

“Me too.”

“Want to grab breakfast before I head home?” That was enough to get Ann out of bed. Shiho wasn’t about to start an argument right now.

===

“Ryuji.” His mother addressing him shook him out of a daze. He hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before, but he got up early to see his mom before work. He wished she could take a day off sometimes.

“Huh. Sorry, mom. I didn’t get much sleep. Got a lot on my mind.” A lot didn’t even begin to cover everything Ryuji had on his mind. Exams were coming up this week, which was an ordeal of its own. Then there was the train accident and the fact that Takamaki and Suzui almost died. But they were still alive. Shiho summoned in the real world! ‘How effin cool is that?’ Ryuji was equal parts jealous and impressed. 

Then there was Haru, who he barely knew but was already coming to rely on. She was really sweet, Ryuji thought, but there was something unsettling in her voice when certain topics came up, like her father or her fiance. 

He was also pretty sure she was harboring a crush on him, but he was too scared to ask, lest he be placed in the same category as Sugimura. Ryuji was fairly sure that engagement was going to end in castration, once Haru figured out how to perform one without leaving any evidence behind besides the broken shell of Sugimura.

“Ryuji, dear, you can talk to me.” His mom really was the sweetest. She didn’t deserve the life she’d been given. She didn’t deserve to have to work seven days per week after her no good husband left and her son lost his scholarship.

He didn’t know where to start. He knew he couldn’t share anything about the Phantom Thieves, but he could talk about his new friends. She’d be happy to hear he had new friends.

“I’ve actually made some new friends at school,” Ryuji said, trying to give his mom a smile. He was way too tired. “Being around them is kind of exhausting. They’ve got more energy than I can put up with.”

“That’s saying something, Ryuji. You’ve always been a handful.” 

“Right!? Anyway, we were all studying for exa-”

“Oh! They even got you to study? I must meet them! They must be special!”

“ _Mom_ , be nice. I know, I’m not the best when it comes to school work. I’m trying.” He looked down a bit. He felt bad for how much guff he’d given his mother over the years.

“It’s not been easy for you. Stop beating yourself up over it. I’m not blaming you.” There was a certain look she’d give that Ryuji never had a response for, and she was giving it right now. He knew not to apologize again.

“Well, three of them were on that train in Yongen-Jaya yesterday,” his mother’s face fell, “but they survived. And nobody is really sure how. They were completely unharmed.” It was only a small lie. Nobody knew how Shiho was able to summon in the real world.

“Dear, that’s a miracle.”

“I know. It’s just a lot to take in. So many people died. Why save them?”

His mother thought for a minute. “I don’t know. But maybe we should go to the shrine today and give thanks.” They hadn’t done that since dad left. He was the religious one, ironically. 

“That sounds like a plan, ma.”

===

Ren stirred awake a bit later than usual, remembering he had company. It was hard to ignore the red hair covering his face and the little bits that ended up in his mouth. ‘Note to self: Invest in hair ties.’

Sumire started to shift around at around the same time Ren awoke; He assumed she wasn’t a morning person like he was. His assumption was confirmed when she tried to turn over to face him and got caught in the t-shirt she was wearing, which twisted up and restricted her arms to an awkward position.

“ _Senpai heeeeeelp_.” Ren laughed at her plight.

“Okay, okay.” He was careful not to get too fresh with his girlfriend while he helped her untangle the shirt but it didn’t help that she made a grunt that sounded a lot like a moan as she was being shifted around. He did complete the task, though. The two had been sitting up trying to fix her ordeal and she laid back down, using his lap as a pillow. She closed her eyes again. “C’mon, no more sleep. You need to get up.” 

“Senpai, just a few more minutes.” 

“No.” Then Ren thought. “Actually, a few more minutes, then I’ll go downstairs to let you change.” Waiting a few minutes was his best plan because he didn’t really want to explain a certain complication to Sumire. 

“Thank you, Ren.” It was unusual for her to actually use his name; he liked it.

===

Ren had been downstairs fixing two cups of coffee and helping Sojiro clean up the morning’s dishes when Sumire marched down. Sojiro asked Ren how the previous night had gone, implying something untoward, but Ren assured him nothing of the sort had happened. 

“Sure, kid. I was your age, once, too.”

‘I’ve been my age for a hundred years, old timer.’ Ren thought, but didn’t say out loud. 

“Good morning, Senpai, Boss-san!” Sumire was much more awake than Ren had anticipated. Given just a few minutes earlier she was nearly a zombie; ‘a really, really cute zombie;’ he assumed coffee would be necessary to wake her up but instead, she was her usual, chipper self.

“Are you going to need a ride home? I can close up shop for a little bit if you need it. Traffic might be a killer, though,” Sojiro offered.

“I would really appreciate it, but I can wait a little bit,” she glanced at the clock. “I’m surprised it’s not busier. Your coffee is amazing.”

“I keep saying that and he won’t let me advertise.” Sojiro smacked Ren on the back of the head.

“I like it quiet.”

===

Rio tried to convince Takemi it was safe for her to take the train home; the trains from her neighborhood were up and running again by the time the morning came but Takemi was hearing none of it.

“I’ll feel a lot better if I can meet your parents.” Rio looked down. She’d tried to keep quiet about what she dealt with at home; really, it was nothing. Getting yelled at was nothing. 

“Okay, Dr. Takemi.” Takemi was the exact kind of person her parents were terrified she’d be interacting with but today, Tae dressed slightly more normally. The collar stayed but the heels were replaced with black sneakers and she actually wore jeans. ‘That jacket is ridiculously cool.’ Rio started admiring it again. It was the kind she’d probably get in trouble for wearing at home or wearing it to school. 

The car ride to Rio’s home was silent, conversation-wise, but loud, music wise. Rio had asked Takemi about one of the patches on her jacket and she had obliged by playing one of the albums on her CD player. “Maxwell Murder” was the first song’s name, Takemi said. _Dial 9-9-9 if you really want the truth. Dial 9-9-9 if you can’t see it through. He ain’t Jack the Ripper, he’s your ordinary crook_.

“What’s that song about?”

“Drug addicts; specifically a guy that committed murder trying to get enough money for more crack.” Takemi’s tone was matter of fact and Rio flinched a little. She wasn’t used to that kind of talk. Takemi noticed. “Sorry, I forget that stuff isn’t really normal.”

===

They’d pulled into a large home not far from the safehouse; Rio could have realistically walked there, but Takemi assumed she hadn’t spent much time out and about in the neighborhood. If her suspicions were correct, it was school, practice, then home. 

She accompanied Rio to the door to make sure her parents were home.

She rang the bell and a short woman, taller than Rio but not by much, answered. “Can I help you?” Her tone and body language said she wasn’t at all happy to see Takemi, or her daughter, for that matter.

“I’ve brought your daughter home.” The woman really didn’t look happy to see her daughter. “I’m assuming she told you about the train accident?”  
“Rio, are we doing this now? Getting scum to lie for you?” She’d taken a step out of the door and towards her daughter but Takemi stepped between them.

“Excuse you?” Running a back-alley practice made Takemi a pro at intimidation, even against larger people. She could handle this woman. “I may not look it, I admit. But I’m a doctor. I run a clinic in Yongen-Jaya and they brought your daughter to _me._ ”

The woman scoffed.

“How about you be grateful your daughter is still alive?” 

“Don’t tell me how to feel.” She looked like she was mulling over Takemi’s words but she was obviously stubborn. “Rio. I’m glad you’re here.” She gave a fake smile. “And thank you for bringing my daughter back.”

“You’re welcome. Rio, I hope to see you again. You’re a bright girl.”

“Thank you, Dr. Takemi.”

===

“Care to tell me what that was about?” The second Tae was gone, Rio’s mother, Reiko, was back to being a monster. 

“She took care of me last night after you told me not to come home,” Rio said. 

“Oh, so it’s my fault?” Her mother raised her voice. Her father must not have been home, Rio thought. Mom only raised her voice when they alone. 

Rio didn’t know what came over her. She was usually one to just bear the lectures and shouting.

“In a way? Yes!” Almost immediately she regretted what she said. “I’m so-” she began to apologize when her mom slapped her across the face.

“To your room. Now. I don’t want to see you the rest of the day. And I want you home after school tomorrow.” Reiko sneered. “I don’t think we want you in their volleyball program anymore. It’s a shame they couldn’t find a way to keep the old coach.”

Rio kept her head down and wordlessly started her march to her bedroom. Except she was stopped by her mother after a few steps. 

“Do you have that awful woman’s business card? I know she gave you one.” Rio nodded and handed it to her mom. “Thank you.” She ripped it into tiny little pieces. Rio kept her head down and continued towards her room and locked the door.

As the narcissistic older generations often forget, technology changes over time. To Rio, ripping the business card into pieces was more symbolic than consequential: It was the last time she’d allow her mother to have control over her life in such a way. 

It helped that she’d already saved contact info for both Dr. Takemi and Goro on her phone.

 **RF:** Thank you so much for helping me.

 **TT:** np. Are you safe?

 **RF:** nope. I’m locked in my room. Have to quit the team as punishment.

 **TT:** Need me to come get you?

 **RF:** I’m not sure how they’ll handle that.

 **TT:** Could sneak out

 **TT:** just saying. I did that a lot

 **RF:** they’d call the cops

 **TT:** oh. My parents weren’t cop people

 **RF:** ill try and stick this out.

 **TT:** if I don’t hear from you by the end of the night im coming to get you.

 **RF:** okay. Good plan.

===

Ren was again struggling to hold things together now that he didn’t have Sumire there to keep him grounded. He couldn’t break down in front of her, or anyone else, really. Maybe Minako. She’d get it. Yu would probably get it, too.

But Ren couldn’t afford to wallow, or bitch, or complain, or anything. He was now tasked with coming up with a plan to take down Shido during an exam week in _May_. He really wanted to just do it alone; Satanael could handle anything thrown at him, but using Satanael for an extended amount of time was exhausting to a point where Lavenza wouldn't even let Ren summon get him from the compendium anymore. Relying on Chi-You, Metatron, Lucifer and Ishtar was possible but he ran the issue of running out of magic. He had a few others he hadn’t tried yet but he didn’t want to rely on an unknown variable for success. That was fine for Mementos, but Shido’s palace was a different beast.

His only real workable option that allowed the rest of the Thieves to focus on finals was trying to go it with Wakaba and her guy, and Minako. If Minako had a navigator they could use, maybe Fuuka, it could work. But a team that didn’t normally work together could be a massive disadvantage. 

He didn’t need to study for exams anymore, but he needed a distraction and he didn’t feel like planning any further. He’d talk to Minako tomorrow to decide on a plan. He’d had another option: Sit on the sidelines and just let Maruki and Wakaba handle it, but god, fighting Shido was always just so satisfying and he felt he might finally get some answers this time. If they could run into the other metaverse user Maruki was claiming existed, they could solve that problem, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It always bothered me that Dr. Takemi felt strongly enough about her punk roots to not forego professionalism but also to never talk about it. Seriously, the people I know that still dress like that in adulthood never shut up about it. I decided to rectify that. 
> 
> Ren's going to be angry for awhile, understandably. 
> 
> For right now, I'm not publishing a chapter until I'm three chapters ahead on what I have written, that way I have a buffer in case my inspiration goes away. I have a lot coming ahead and these next few chapters get pretty heavy. (Chapter 21 gets back to more angst/fluff and moving towards the next palace, for anyone who wants a bit of warning.)


	19. Not Just a Fad

_ Monday, May 9th, Lunchtime _

Sumire and Kasumi had stopped by Rio’s desk in the morning to let her know she could come to the rooftop for lunch, if she wanted. The rumor mill hadn’t been kind to Rio after the school learned she was being forced to quit the volleyball team.

“I heard she lied about being in that train accident to get off the team.”

That was the rumor that was traveling fastest, and the one that bothered her the most. Rio didn’t know where the rumor came from, but her usual friends wanted nothing to do with her, so now she was traveling to the roof to hang out with all the other kids that didn’t fit in anywhere. ‘If only I’d known this is where my life would be a week ago. I’d have just shut up.’ She thought again. ‘Stop acting like mom. They were  _ all _ nice to me and they didn’t have to be. I’m an ungrateful bitch.’

She’d gotten upstairs to find it uncharacteristically quiet. Ren’s face was stuck in a hard gaze but when he saw Rio it lightened up and conversation picked back up again.

“Rio! Hey, how are you feeling?” He shouted across the roof when he noticed her. How to answer such a question? ‘I’ve been pulled from the thing keeping me at this school, my mother refuses to talk to me and the people I look up to most in the world right now are a doctor who is also potentially a drug addict and my traumatized senpai who for some reason has superpowers, things are looking great right now!’

“I’m surviving.” She looked at the ground. Honestly would feel better. “I’m being forced to quit the volleyball team.” Honesty didn’t feel better. She walked over and sat next to Ann and Shiho, who weren’t acting like themselves, either. 

“Rio, I’m sorr-”

“Shiho, I swear to god, if you fucking apologize-” She stopped mid-sentence. “Sorry. My temper is getting out of hand, and I just need to breathe.” She started to get up when Kasumi interfered. 

“No, you’re fine. We all have those days.” She looked at Ren. “I had one yesterday. We have exams this week and we’re all stressed out.”

Sumire nodded and Rio looked around the rooftop. Everyone looked exhausted. The big blond delinquent spoke up.

“Dude, nobody up here is blaming you for having a bad time. We’re all here for the same reason you are. Nobody wants us.” Rio nodded, and sat back down next to Shiho. Goro and the Student Council President hadn’t said anything while she was the center of attention, but they were by her side now that things had calmed.

“Is everything okay?” Niijima-senpai sounded uncharacteristically caring, but Rio supposed she hadn’t had much interaction with her. She only knew what the rumors told her.

“No. Home isn’t good right now.” Goro nodded. 

“Takemi told me to watch out for you at school. She didn’t tell me what happened, but I can help if you need it.” He gave a reassuring smile. “We’re all in this together.”

“Isn’t that right,  _ Joker? _ ” He jumped at the use of the name

“That a nickname or something?”

“Yeah, he hates it, though.”

“No, he just hates it when you say it that way,” corrected Goro. Niijima-senpai smacked him on the shoulder.

She turned back to Rio. “Are you still taking aikido?” Rio shook her head.

“I had to quit to focus on volleyball.” She really didn’t want to quit. That was another problem.

“Here, give me your phone. I graduated from the class we were in last year, but if you want to start again, I feel I can do a good enough job teaching you.” ‘They’re really going all out,’ Rio thought. ‘It’s like they expected it.’

Then she thought about the damage the school rumor mill had done to all of them and to some of the other students. Maybe she shouldn’t be surprised that these people were trying to limit the damage. If only they could protect her from her parents.

===

_ After School _

**RA:** You and Maruki are coming with me to Shido’s palace.

**WI:** No. We’re taking care of this.

**RA:** Sorry, forgot about the part where he’s been tormenting you for the last 100 literal years

**WI:** We will focus on that when we get to it. This isn’t the same Shido. You aren’t this dumb.

**RA:** Yes I am.

**RA:** Wait.

**RA:** Fuck. Let me and Minako come for back up. 

**WI:** We need a nav

**RA:** We’ll find one

**WI:** You’ve got 30 minutes to meet us at the Diet Building.

**RA:** omw

===

**RA:** head to diet building. You talk to Fuuka?

**MA:** She can’t. Kirijo will get suspicious.

**MA:** Rise can come

**RA:** Rise?

**MA:** Risette

**MA:** The pop singer. She’s a navigator

**RA:** this is a really bad time for me to be starstruck

**MA:** She’s practically married to that journalist you met

**RA:** I know. It’s still weird.

**RA:** Think she’ll autograph my dagger?   
**MA:** Stupid shit like that is right up her alley.

===

“Coach cancelled practice again,” Kasumi sounded bummed when she told Sumire the news. “I can’t believe she’s cancelled three times in two wees.”

Sumire was just as irritated. “I know.” She kicked a rock into the road as they walked back to their home after school. “I’m never going to pass you up if she keeps cancelling practice.” Her expression softened. “I’m really worried about Senpai.”

Kasumi nodded. “He’s being an idiot.” She was angry at herself for lashing out at him yesterday; she was sure it played part in his anger today, when he told the Phantom Thieves that he was infiltrating the palace without them. “I think it was partially my fault.”

“Kasumi, don’t you dare say such a thing.” Sumire admonished her sister.

“It was, though. I lashed out and challenged him. I should have known his mood was down. I was joking but I knew it wasn’t funny.” Her eyes looked down. “You know I’d never actually hurt you, right?”

Sumire stopped walking and looked at her sister. Instead of answering, she hugged her. “Kasumi, we might fight, but I know you would never hurt me.”

She thought about the look Ren gave Kasumi when she decided to weaponize his codename. Then she thought again of how he reacted when Makoto did the same thing earlier. It was a frightening side she’d never seen of her boyfriend.

It was also a tad exhilarating.

But it was mostly frightening.

===

Ren had never met Takuto Maruki before so he wasn’t sure what to expect. When he walked up to the park bench Wakaba was sitting at, he was surprised to find a handsome man a bit older than Minako. If Ren had to guess, he was between 28 and 30. He had long brown hair and glasses, and a very friendly voice.

He didn’t seem like an assassin. Ren voiced this opinion..

“Astute observation. That’s because I’m not.” Ren gave Wakaba a look.

“He’s not lying, Ren.”

“I work for Shido, and yes, he does think I’m causing mental shutdowns, but my power is a tad unconventional.” Maruki’s eyes took on a sadder tone. “The mental shutdowns most recent aren’t from me.”

“Who are they from?” It was Rise that spoke. 

“I don’t know. Shido claims he doesn’t know either. That’s the problem with working for him. I don’t know what’s true and what isn’t.”

“That’s just great,” Ren said sardonically. “So, what do you do,  _ exactly _ ? I’m friends with the old guy. He could make shadows go nuts.”

Maruki looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry, I assumed Wakaba had told you. I’m stuck in a time loop. So, there used to be a different guy that was doing mental shutdowns. Now you are. Apparently.”

Maruki thought for a second. “Oh! That makes a bit of sense, actually. I’ve noticed some inconsistencies within reality whenever I use my power.”

“What?” Minako and Ren both asked at the same time.

“It’s called actualization. Basically, I can alter cognition, removing them from this world and placing them in another,” He said with a smile. “After the coast is clear, I offer to bring them back. They never take the deal.”

He said this with confidence and showed visible confusion when everyone except Wakaba looked horrified. The only reason Wakaba didn’t find it horrifying is because she already knew about it.

To Ren, that sounded a lot like what he’d been going through, except he would have given anything to return to his normal self.

“Don’t mistake me for being rude here, because I’m not trying to be rude.” Ren prefaced. “But how in the fuck-” he paused briefly, attempting to keep his composure- “do you justify that?”

Maruki wasn’t expecting to be challenged. “What do you mean? They’re always happier in the other reality.”

“Because they’re on metaphysical heroin, you dipshit!” Ren rubbed his temples. “I-I-I just can’t believe the root of all this bullshit this timeline, is a fucking hedonism-obsessed asshole.”

The not-assassin researcher just looked at Ren dumbfounded. He wasn’t used to speaking of this with anyone except Wakaba, who rarely challenged his hypotheses on the grounds that she really only cared about the metaverse.

“I must admit, I didn’t expect anyone to disagree with me so strongly.” He scratched the back of his head. “I guess, I can understand why you’d find my stance frustrating.”

Ren looked at him, bewildered. He started to speak but then he didn’t.

Minako eyed the researcher. It was surprising to see Ren lash out and get no negative reaction. She looked at Rise, who, as an outsider to the conversation, seemed to be analyzing everything in her head.

“Maruki-san, I think the frustration he’s showing stems from the fact that people in this reality are losing family members because they’re being forcibly taken to a dreamland.” Thinking about this was hurting her head.

“I suppose, I was only thinking of this on an individual basis.”

“That’s your answer?” Ren looked at him. “Seriously? You didn’t think it through?”

Maruki was silent.

“Can you bring everyone back?” Maruki didn’t reply. Ren repeated himself, in case he didn’t hear him. “Can you,” Ren started more slowly this time and emphasized the annunciation of each word following. “Bring everyone back?”

“Yes. But they don’t want to.”

“But they don’t want to!” Ren shouted. “But they don’t want to!” He repeated again, but this time in a mocking voice, like that of a child crying. “God. I’ve encountered some stupid people but this? You’re right up there with this asshole.” Ren grabbed his shirt. “Listen here,” he said quietly. “If I could change your heart? I would. In a heartbeat. Without a single second thought.”

…

Everything was silent but Maruki murmured something.

“What was that?”

He murmured again, still hard to understand.

“You’re going to have to say it louder for the rest of the class.”

“I want you to!” Maruki finally spoke up. “I’m not stupid. I’m not!” His face broke, not like he was crying, but he was definitely losing it. “I was in too deep by the time I realized it was wrong. Hits kept coming in and I couldn’t get out. I figured it was safer to transfer people;s shadows to another cognition than to give them a mental shut down.”

Ren nodded. “That’s all I wanted to hear.” He thought for a second. “I’m sorry.” Maruki looked at him, confused. “For being a dick, I mean. It’s been a very stressful couple of days. I didn’t need to yell at you.”

“Truth be told, I think you did need to yell. But I appreciate the apology, regardless. Let’s get this done. I’m ready to rot in jail.”

Ren pulled out his phone. “You guys ready?” He looked at Rise. “This is your first time, and this is the scariest place I ever go. Are you ready?” Rise nodded. 

“It can’t be as bad as Heaven.” She shivered. “Nothing is as bad as Heaven.” She paused again. “I should call Nanako when we’re done.”

“I’ve met you and your boyfriend for about three minutes each, and I can already tell you’re perfect for each other.” Rise laughed at that.

“Alright guys, showtime.”

===

Shido’s palace looked like it always did. It was a giant cruise ship sailing right through Tokyo. As the city sank, the ship kept going. Ren expected the inside to be full of shadows stronger than he’d dealt with recently, so he’d come in equipped with Ishtar, Chi-You, Yoshitsune and a few others. They were the most overpowered Personas he had available. He expected to need them.

Minako had done something similar. She hadn’t used Mara in a long time because, god, he was just so fucking gross, but he was also one of the strongest Personas she’d had. She also brought Kohryu, Thor and Melchizedek with her. Asura was there as well, in case Minako needed it, but weakness to bless meant a little bit more now than it did in the old days. She had noticed that in their trip to Mementos.

Minako and Rise stared at the area around them. Minako had told Ren about Tartarus and how it was similar to Mementos, but she’d never mentioned anything like a palace before.

“Joker, what is this place?” Being called by his code name made him realize he had to come up with code names for everyone. 

“It’s a palace. Think like, similar to Mementos, but personalized. This is what Shido views Tokyo as.”

“That’s batshit.” Ren nodded. Rise, in the meantime, had summoned a Persona, a black figure in a white dress with a cerulean colored head that looked like a telescope.

“Guys, there’s a presence behind that door.” She warned. “Don’t open it if you aren’t ready.” Her face tensed. “It’s almost like Izanami…”

“I think we’re as ready as we’re going to get. You guys want code names?”

“We’ve got them already,” Wakaba said. “I’m Sunny, and he’s Doc.” Maruki nodded.

“Minako, I know you’ve got an idea for a code name already. No way you haven’t been fantasizing about this moment.”

“You don’t need to be mean about it, Joker,” she fake pouted. “But yeah. I want to be-”

“You get to be Gretzky!”

“No, fuck you, my naginata isn’t a hockey stick.” The pout was a little more real this time. “Jerk.” Her smile returned. “I get to be Ares.”

“Oh. That’s a good one,” Joker shot back. “Might be tempting fate to name yourself after a god, though.”

“Joker, this is what we call a reverse jinx. You jinx yourself on purpose so the jinx doesn’t actually cause any harm.”

“Ares, the last time you talked about jinxes before we did anything we almost all died.”

“Oh, I’m sure we’ll all be fine.”

“Anyway, Rise, what’s your name gonna be?”

“A critic called me a siren after my last album. That’s pretty cool. I want to be Siren.”

“Doesn’t that mean you’re a distracting beacon that’s leading us to our death?”

“...I still like Siren.”

Minako cleared her throat. “See, Joker? Now  _ that’s _ a jinx.”

The group, with their newly christened code names, headed for the front door and walked inside, prepared for the battle Rise had warned them about.

===

They were ignored when they opened the door; the cognitive people on the ship were distracted by an altercation taking place on the ship’s second floor. The group sprinted up the stairs, towards the area where they normally had to submit the letters of recommendation. The doors were already open, and a tall, lanky figure with dark hair that burgeoned on blue was standing in front of Shido’s final form, the puffy red wannabe dictator huffing and puffing. Ren knew he was almost dead.

The lanky figure pointed a gun at his own head.

Minako screamed for her brother.

===

Thanatos, a Persona Ren was only barely familiar with, materialized behind him, and unleashed an attack so terrible that Shido’s shadow disintegrated, the palace no longer stable with the death of the man.

The lanky figure turned around.

“Goodbye, sis.” His eyes were bright yellow. He disappeared in a flash.

“We need to get out of here!” Rise shouted as the group sprinted back towards the front door, barely making it back on time. They were lucky this time; the shadow didn’t stick around to talk.

===

They re-emerged in front of the Diet Building in a heap. They had to exit the area. Shido was probably in the middle of a mental shutdown. They’d made it to the station when the sirens started. Minako had yet to stop crying.

===

“Minako.” Ren put an arm around her. “I know that was hard to see. But that was his shadow.”

She sniffed, then nodded.

“Do you know what that means?”

Minako shook her head. Everyone else looked at him, bewildered.

“Dead men don’t have shadows. Your brother is alive somewhere.”

Minako looked up at him, then back down. Then she buried her face in his chest and cried.

===

_ Evening _

Rise finally made it back to the apartment after their venture into Shido’s palace. She tried looking on the bright side. Shido was gone and he would no longer be involved in the country’s further decision making. She hadn’t been paying much attention to politics, but Yu had, and he was very up front that Shido was dangerous.

Yu was cooking dinner when she got off the elevator. Fuuka was watching intently, still trying to learn how to not be a terrible cook. “Souji, could you do me a favor and go to your room? I’ve got to talk to your brother.”

Souji nodded. Discussions involving the shadow world always left him with an existential crisis so he appreciated a heads up. He left his spot on the sofa and headed to his room. He had to study for exams anyway. 

“Shido is probably dead.” Yu looked up from his cooking. 

“Should I head back to work?” Rise nodded. “What happened?”

“It was a mental shutdown.” Rise looked at the ground. “That’s the other thing. Minato is alive.”

Yu looked visibly shook. “That means the seal is broken.” Rise nodded again. 

“It’s worse than just that. I think we could all deal with preventing The Fall. We have enough firepower between three groups to stop it.”

“What could possibly be worse?”

“Minato’s shadow is causing the mental shutdowns.”

“I’ll call Minako when I get back from work.” Yu started to head back to his room to throw on some slacks and a dress shirt.

“I’m going to call Nanako.” Rise called after him. Yu came back to give her a kiss before he left. “Something happened that made me think of her.”

===

“Niijima-san, your daughters miss you.” Maruki spoke to a well-built man in a police uniform. 

“What do you mean? Makoto and Sae are right here with me. And my wife. I hadn’t seen her in so long.” The man was adamant that he stay. ‘What if... ‘ Maruki had an idea. He had never tried this, but given the world already had one person stuck in a time loop, what’s to prevent Maruki from performing some magic of his own. 

“Your daughters are here, too, Niijima-san. And you can bring your wife. Ari-chan can come, too.” The man’s face lit up. “You can return to the real world, sir. The danger is gone.”

“Y-y-you mean, this isn’t real?” The man’s heart was breaking.

“It’s as real as you want it to be, Officer Niijima.” The man broke. 

“I just want to see my daughters grow up. I can’t believe I left them alone.” He was crying.

“I’ll bring you back.”

Seconds later, Maruki was no longer the only person in his office. Officer Niijima and his wife’s disappearances could be blamed on Shido. 

Now, there are other cases to get to.

===

Makoto wasn’t exactly happy with Ren, but she really did need the extra time to study. She was always diligent but lately, the Phantom Thieves operations had put a dent in her study time. It was helpful that Sae was home to help her study. That hadn’t happened in years. 

They’d been having a long discussion about Japanese history; “Discussion can lead to stronger essays, Makoto, so it’s important to talk about these things,” Sae had said at the beginning of the session; when their doorbell rang.

Makoto watched Sae walk to the door and open it, then crumple the second it opened. 

She fell right into their father’s arms.

===

Yusuke Kitagawa had long since caught Madarame stealing paintings but at this point, nothing could be done. The art world was stuffy anyway; with the aid of the internet, Yusuke found an outlet that reflected his view of the world. People would often submit photos of their friends and loved ones, or they’d pay him to have art done of their favorite book or cartoon characters. Creating art that brought joy to people made him happy and the money wasn’t bad either. It wasn’t a lot, but it was enough for rent and it kept food on the table for him and his mother. He could create  _ real _ art in the free time he’d gotten from his side hustle. It took much less time than a part-time job would have.

Their apartment was in a fairly shady neighborhood; anything this close to Shinjuku was going to have it’s fair share of problems but it was a roof over their head and it was handicap accessible. 

His mother, Manami, had suffered a stroke shortly after Yusuke was born, therefore outliving her usefulness to Ichiryusai Madarame. She had always been ill and her main use for Madarame was her art, which he loved to take and claim for his own. A young Manami was taken with the artist, only realizing the extent of his discretions after she was no longer able to paint. He had thrown them out and stolen his mother’s masterpiece,  _ Sayuri _ , and altered it in the name of “allusion to mystery,” he had claimed. No lawyer in the world would take the case. Madarame had been well connected, Manami knew, to a politician, Masayoshi Shido. Madarame wasn’t smart enough to hide that connection from his much younger lover.

“Yusuke, can you turn on the television?”

“I suppose I could,” he reached over and flicked on the old-fashioned box set. They weren’t broke enough to be stuck using an old box style television. Instead, it was visually appealing in a way that wouldn’t allow Yusuke to upgrade. 

The news was on, and if Manami could have jumped for joy, she would have. “Yusuke! Look!” Masayoshi Shido was found dead in his office of an apparent heart attack. Yusuke hadn’t seen her this happy since he got accepted into Kosei. 

===

Yukari would be out for a few days; she had a scheduled appearance in Kyoto that she couldn’t get out of when Kirijo made the arrangements for her to be in Tokyo. Ren didn’t ask for more details. All he knew is that it would leave Minako alone all night and she had yet to stop crying. He couldn’t really blame her. 

But he also couldn’t have predicted where the night would head once he was back at the apartment with her. He found she had the ingredients to make a serviceable pot of curry so he got started doing that. She sat herself down at the kitchen table, her head down like a student in detention, little sniffles and sobs escaping as she attempted to calm herself down. It was the first time she had seen her brother, real or shadow, in nine years and she hadn’t had 100 years of time loops to destroy her ability to mourn. 

He placed a plate in front of her.

“Eat, Minako.” She didn’t move. Ren sighed. “I don’t care how sad you are. I’m going to tickle you if you don’t eat.” She picked her head up off the table. Her eyes were swollen and puffy. Her cheeks drooped and her lips were downturned. It was probably the most realistic her pout had ever looked. She picked up the fork and started eating while given Ren as defiant a look as she could.

“Tif iff ealy good.” She said with her mouth full. She had stopped crying for the duration of her meal, at least. 

“Thank god you still have your appetite. I thought we almost lost you forever,” Ren tried to joke but realized a joke about losing her forever was the wrong thing to say.

“No, it’s my stupid brother that goes away forever, not me.” She tried to smile. This time, her mouth wasn’t full. “You’re stuck with me.” She was still fighting off tears, but she was starting to feel like herself again. “And I called him a mope. Goodness. What is wrong with me?”

Ren sighed and sat at the table next to her. He grabbed her hand and looked her in the eye.

“You never took the time to mourn, did you?” She shook her head. Ren nodded. “I understand. I’m guilty of the same.” He caressed the top of her hand. This wasn’t meant to be a romantic gesture, but a comforting one, the kind a parent might use with a child mourning the death of a grandparent. “Every single time I go through this, I lose everyone in my life. Even though I know I’ll see them again, I never know if they’ll  _ actually _ be them. I’ve gained and lost a lot that way. For the longest time, nothing mattered. I didn’t mourn my friends, I didn’t mourn my enemies. I wasn’t living.” 

He paused for a little bit. Minako took a couple bites.

“But I met you guys. There’s a lot different this time. I’ve got a team that I love more than anything. That includes you. And if things don’t work out? I’m going to do this again. I’m going to make this work. And I’m going to live the rest of my life, finally, with the people who made me love my life again.” 

Minako had finished her meal. Ren’s words resonated with her. She really hadn’t taken the time to properly mourn her brother but now she had a renewed hope that she would see him again.

Ren slept on the couch that night and Minako was going to have to take him to school in the morning.

===

“Elizabeth, it’s good to see you,” Igor welcomed her back to the Velvet Room. “It has been awhile.”

“I come back bearing good news.” Igor’s facial expression hadn’t really changed, but an onlooker may have projected an eyebrow raise onto him. “The Trickster’s despair has broken the seal.”

Lavenza, uncharacteristically, interrupted. “How is that good news?” She hadn’t had malice in her voice, but Elizabeth had detected an edge.

“Another Trickster from the past has regained his life. They can now work together in ending their shared ordeal.”

“Thank you for sharing.” Lavenza returned to her chair in front of the fireplace. 

“We share more than you know, young one.” Elizabeth returned a smile. “Like the will to do only what is best for our Trickster.”

“That is good news, Elizabeth. Where is the Trickster of Death?” Igor asked, as if he didn’t know the answer. 

“He has been returned to the place in which he was last seen.”

===

_ Tuesday, May 10th, Lunchtime _

“Edogawa’s homework really never gets easier, does it?” A fellow third-year asked Ken Amada. 

“I’m telling you, it gets worse. I asked Minako about it last time and she said she’s never had a more pointless class in her life. That was years ago, but…” it was really common for Ken to talk at length about his Senpai from when he was a kid. They were still his best friends: Connecting with kids his own age was a struggle for him, even before the dark hour. He was lucky to have met Kenji, another third year with a similar problem. 

He’d transferred to Gekkoukan after his father took a job with Kirijo Group, hitting it off with Ken over Featherman of all things. Ken swore up and down, at first, that he’d outgrown it, but he made the mistake of doing so in front of Takeba-san, which earned him a quick questioning where she was concerned he wasn’t watching her on TV anymore.

Kenji found it hilarious that he got lectured by Pink Argus for missing an episode, and the two became fast friends. 

They’d started spending every lunch break on the rooftop. Ken was proud to say he’d gotten over the events of the Dark Hour enough to be on the rooftop again, the memories he’d created with Kenji and a few of their other friends enough to replace the trauma of losing one of his senpai. 

It was a Tuesday, a fairly normal Tuesday for Ken. The only major difference was that exams started tomorrow, meaning he and Kenji were being tailed by a couple of second years who wanted some extra help studying.

On a normal Tuesday, they would have been the only people on the rooftop but today was  _ not  _ a normal Tuesday. Ken wasn’t sure there’d ever be another normal Tuesday ever again. A tall and lanky 16-year-old with an awful mid-2000s emo haircut was laying on a bench sleeping. Ken swore he’d seen him before but when he got close, he couldn’t believe it.

“Arisato-san!”

“Huh.” Minato shook awake. “Oh. What’s up, Ken-kun? How long was I out?” He looked at Ken harder. “Since when are you taller than-”

The look on Ken’s face answered his question.

“Oh. I did die.” If that weren’t metal as fuck, Minato would have been mad. “Oh.” He thought about an extremely vivid series of dreams he’d had. “Is S.E.E.S. still a thing? I need to call a meeting.”

Ken shook his head. He had ushered his friends to go on the other side of the roof and wait for him. This wasn’t their normal study spot anyway. “They’re in Tokyo.” He handed Minato his iPhone. “Call Kirijo-san. She can help.” Ken ran off to be with his friends, as to not look suspicious.

“Wait! Ken! I don’t know how this phone works!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess I'd call this chapter the climax. This is what I had planned on building to form the beginning, and then I realized I liked these characters far too much. I have a completely different end game now, as demonstrated by this chapter. I can't stress enough, this story will go all the way through January/February.
> 
> Let me know what you think of this chapter. Chapter 20 will be out as soon as tomorrow. I would like to have through 25 written before I update past 22. My rule is I get three chapters ahead, then publish. If I publish without being 3 chapters ahead, it means work has picked up again and I won't have time to write as much. I really love writing this story, and I don't see me slowing down any time soon.


	20. Conqueror of Death

_ Tuesday, May 10th, Lunchtime (???) _

‘Am I still a student?’

‘...’

‘I’m definitely not enrolled at Gekkoukan, right? I’ve been dead?’

‘Kirijo would probably pull some strings to get me back in.’

‘What the fuck even is this thing?’ He turned the object Ken gave him around in his hands. ‘It kind of looks like that phone everyone was losing it over.’ 

‘I guess that wasn’t a fad.’

He fiddled with the buttons on the side, realizing they did nothing. The button on the top right locked the phone, he discovered, but it took him seconds to realize Ken’s passcode was ‘000000’. The phone unlocked again, he found a green icon in the corner with a symbol on it that looked like an old-fashioned phone, the kind he was used to. He tapped the button, but held it for too long and all the icons started shaking.

‘Did I give the phone a seizure?’ He locked it, then reopened it and tried again. He tapped the phone instead and scrolled through its contacts. There were a lot of names he recognized and a lot of them he didn’t. He found Kirijo’s number fairly quickly but he realized he needed to talk to Minako first. She’d make sure he stayed dead if he didn’t call her first. 

The only problem was that he couldn’t find her name anywhere in the phone. ‘Well, it  _ is _ Ken.’ He sighed, scrolled to the contact labeled “DO NOT ANSWER” and laughed. That was a good sign that she was the same old Minako. He selected the contact and sure enough, her number hadn’t changed in all these years. He hit the number and it started dialing.

===

Minako’s eyes lit up when she saw Ken Amada’s name come across her phone’s screen. She knew she was a bit overbearing, but he was probably the closest to a son that she’d ever have and he hadn’t been answering the phone. It didn’t help, she supposed, she always called around bed time. Ken was diligent in keeping a schedule.

It made her sad but she understood. Ken was a very independent person and Minako was a special kind of overbearing; playing “mom” to Ken was her escape when the world was ending. She didn’t take it personally; besides, he was a teenager. What teenager didn’t go through a phase where they were too cool? 

He’d grow up eventually. Minato was in the middle of that same phase when he died. Ken didn’t have to worry about suffering a similar fate, so she was sure he’d grow out of it.

“Ken, shouldn’t you be in school?” Foregoing a normal greeting was normal for Minako.

“Uh, Minako, it’s me. Ken gave me his phone.” Minako dropped the phone then picked it back up again.

“Minato?” 

“Yeah.”

===

‘Oh god, she’s crying. I’ve been talking to her for 30 seconds and she’s already crying.’ Well, he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t missed his sister. He also completely understood why she was crying. ‘I was pretty great, after all.’

“Sis.” 

“I’m allowed to cry right now,” Minako sobbed back through the phone. “I can’t believe you’re actually alive.”

“Considering I didn’t even realize I was dead, I’m going to have to agree with you.” She laughed and her voice started to get a little more clear. She must’ve been calming down.

“Where are you right now?”

“When I woke up, I was on the roof at Gekkoukan. Ken found me.” She hadn’t said anything. “Should I… get to class? I’m so confused.”

Minako laughed. “I’m pretty sure you aren’t enrolled, although you could call Mitsuru. She’d probably be able to pull some strings.”

“I gotta call her anyway. She still doing crazy shadow bullshit?”

“More than ever.”

“Awesome.”

===

Kirijo was having another extremely unfortunate date; with Fuuka in Tokyo and none of the Investigation Team available for babysitting duties, she was stuck with Teddie.

Shinji told her to fuck off and hung up on her when she tried to get him to take Teddie. It was one of the few occasions where she couldn’t blame Shinjiro for being surly: Mitsuru had been desperately trying to get rid of Teddie. He was unbearable. She could bear-ly get through a day. ‘Oh no,’ she thought. ‘He’s invading my thoughts.’

Can shadows do that?

“ _ Ugh! _ Teddie! Just let me think for five minutes!”

“Mitsu-chan, I’m just trying to help you score!” Mitsuru knew he didn’t quite understand what that meant, but that didn’t make his behavior any more tolerable. Her phone started buzzing on the table. 

“Ken? I haven’t heard from him in awhile.” She picked up the phone and answered. “Ken? What’s going on?”

“It’s Minato.” Mitsuru’s jaw dropped.

“What? Ken, is this a joke? I don’t normally have time for jo-” 

“Mitsuru, it’s me. I woke up on the roof at Gekkoukan.”

She took a few seconds to gather herself. “Are… are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m as okay as any dead man, I suppose. What’s sis doing in Tokyo?”

Mitsuru was overjoyed to have Minato back, alive and well. But she was still burdened with Teddie. Him being back gave her an idea. If Minato could have seen the evil grin crawl across her face, he would have run away. Even a dead man would have been made uncomfortable by a plotting Mitsuru Kirijo.

“She took a substitute coaching job,” Mitsuru said. “She’s also doing some work for me.” She paused for a second. “Hey, how would you like to go to Tokyo? I’ve got a friend here who can take you.”

“If that’s where everyone is, I guess that’s where I’m needed.” He thought for a second. “You have a friend?”

“Hey! I-” She stopped. “Very funny. You’ll like him, he’s so funny I can’t  _ bear _ it.”

“I… really don’t like how you said that.”

“Too late! You already agreed!”

“No I di-” Mitsuru interrupted him.

“I’m sending a car to pick you up. We’ll get you two on the next train to Tokyo.” Then she hung up.

===

‘Well, Mitsuru hasn’t changed one bit.’ Minato made his way downstairs. 

Gekkoukan hadn’t changed much in the time he was gone. He didn’t recognize any of the students besides Ken and Maiko, who must have been a first year. That exchange was awkward as all get out.

“Maiko, good to see you!” He said as he walked by, only to feel her glare the whole time he kept walking. He ignored it, just glad that she was still living in Iwatodai if she was in school at Gekkoukan.

He passed by a few teachers that gave him weird looks as though they remembered him, but didn’t recognize him. ‘Actually,’ he thought and took a detour towards the faculty office.

“Mrs. Toriumi.” He bowed in greeting. She looked a bit older but she wasn’t that different than he remembered. ‘Still a fox,’ he thought. 

“Do I know you?” She eyed him and he saw some recognition come across her face. “Arisato?” He nodded, and she hugged him. “How?”

“You wouldn’t believe me.”

“You haven’t aged a day.” Oh. Nobody had pointed that out to him yet.

“I haven’t?” He needed to get to a bathroom, or find a mirror somewhere. He’d started to leave the room when she stopped him.

“Will I see you again?” He nodded. 

“I’ll be in touch. Still play Innocent Sin?” She laughed at him.

“They shut down the servers 7 years ago.”

“Oh. That’s sadder than me dying.” He left the room to find a mirror.

Once making it to a restroom and clearing up the fact that he was still 16-years-old, he went to the school gate. ‘I’m going to have to re-enroll in school.’ That wasn’t ideal.

===

A black sedan pulled up in front of the school with a driver Minato didn’t recognize; the man in the passenger seat had the most punchable face imaginable. Unfortunately, he was overly-enthusiastic in his greeting, trying to jump for joy in a way that Minato was sure would ruin the vehicle’s suspension. ‘Kirijo can afford it, I guess.’

The man took his hand. “I’m Teddie! It’s beary nice to meet you!” He was a tall blond man with a voice that didn’t match his looks. It was shrill and high pitched, but he did have a nice head of hair. Mitsuru seemed ‘beary’ eager to get rid of him.

‘Oh god, it’s contagious.’

“Nice to meet you. I’m Minato.” Teddie shook his head up and down excitedly. 

“I’ve heard so much about you from Mina-tan, Yuka-chan and Mitsu-chan! This is so exciting, I can’t bear it!”

“I… what’s with the bear puns?”

Teddie looked at him confused. “What bear puns?”

This was going to be a  _ very _ long car ride. “So, where are we going?” 

The driver didn’t turn around. “Kirijo Offices near the station. Then you’re taking a train from here to Tokyo.”

“Why Tokyo?”

“You’re going to be living with your sister.” No. No-no-no-no.

“Can I just stay here with the bear pun guy?” Minato pleaded. 

“Kirijo was worried you’d say that,” the driver, a stereotypical no-nonsense bodyguard, turned around and gave a friendly smile. It was unusual. “Her and Yukari are roommates.”

“Oh.” Minato thought. “I can accept these conditions.” The driver laughed.

===

Minato hadn’t expected a hug from Kirijo the second he entered her office. He wasn’t sure if she was happy he was alive, or happy he was taking Teddie away. Affection from such an icy person was nice, regardless. She gave a surprisingly nice hug.

“I can’t believe you’re here.” Her voice gave off her exasperation.

“I didn’t even know I was dead, so… I guess I can’t believe it either?” He tried to joke but she didn’t laugh. 

“My heart broke when we couldn’t save you.”

“Well, somebody did? I’m happy enough to see you again. Let’s not overthink this.” Minato was happy Teddie offered to stay in the car. A real, adult conversation with Mitsuru wasn’t something he could avoid.

“I’m just-” She sighed, uncharacteristically downtrodden. “I thought I’d killed yet another person. More blood on Kirijo Group’s hands. Takeba’s father, my father. You. This has all been one big mess of me trying to redeem our name and the collateral damage has taken its toll.”

Minato wasn’t adept at cheering people up; Junpei referred to him as having a ‘moping addiction’ at one point within the first few weeks of meeting, which was apt, because there was something Minato enjoyed about contemplating the misery of the universe. “Mitsuru, this isn’t  _ your _ fault. You did what you could. Nyx is the one to blame for my disappearance.” Not death, he thought. ‘I’m here now.’ “Speaking of, where’s Aigis?”

“She’s grabbing her things. She’s going with you.” Mitsuru thought for a second. “Try and keep her and Teddie separated. They don’t get along. Aigis will try and be friendly but I know he bothers her.”

“Yeah, I get a bad feeling about that guy.” Minato nodded along as she spoke.

“That’s because he’s a shadow.”

“So, are the puns some kind of...attack? They kind of hurt like getting stabbed.”

“No. That’s just his personality. He- well. You just have to see it for yourself.” Kirijo looked down. “I may be sending him with you just to get rid of him.”

“Not the first time you’ve pawned your responsibility off on me, Kirijo.” He laughed.

“You’re worse than your sister.” Before he could leave, she stopped him. “You’re going to have to enroll in school while you’re there.”

“Seriously? I’m like, 25.”

“You never finished school.” She gave him a once over glance. “And you’re definitely still 16.”

===

A crushing hug awaited Minato downstairs. Aigis was waiting by the front door but the second he exited the elevator she speedwalked to be by his side.

“I am happy to see you.” Conversation with Aigis wasn’t simple even though it sounded that way. “I was sad to think I’d never see you again.”

Minato hugged her back. “Everyone does keep saying that.”

Not another word was said; no words were necessary or appropriate. 

Minato and Aigis got back into the vehicle and he took notice as Aigis tensed up the second she saw Teddie.

===

_ After School _

**MA:** You guys have time for practice today?

**KY:** We have exams tomorrow

**SY:** Kasumi is worried I’ll beat her

**SY:** We’ve been studying really hard.

**KY:** I want to study alone

**SY:** We’re both ready for the exam and we both have time.

**KY:** don’t make decisions for me

**MA:** what if you guys just came and studied at my place?   
**KY:** Why

**MA:** I can’t be alone rn

**SY:** coach…

**KY:** on our way

===

Yukari still hadn’t returned, so their snotty mess of a coach had to let the twins into the apartment herself. She hadn’t showered since before their trip to Shido’s palace and while Kasumi hadn’t much of an idea of what happened, Sumire had pulled it out of Ren on the phone when they spoke the previous night. He was being a mope and she couldn’t stand it, and he couldn’t stand making her sad. ‘It was a solid interrogation tactic,’ she thought. ‘Now if I could only pretend to be sad, instead of actually getting really sad.’ 

Ren had told her that he’d stayed over to keep Minako company, but he didn’t want to miss school the next day. At lunch, Ren was dead on his feet; Minako had calmed but the two had instead stayed up all night, sharing their war stories. Ren had a lot more of them; it was the nature of a time loop, but he told Sumire that Minako’s were much sadder and much, much more stressful than he could have ever imagined. He wouldn’t share any details other than that. ‘If she wants to share, she will. But be nice to her right now. She loves you guys, and she really needs people who show it back.’

Coach wasn’t much for conversation, Sumire realized when they got there. She’d been sitting on the couch with a box of tissues pretty much all day, noticeable by the indent on the couch that hadn’t disappeared when she got up.

“How are you feeling, Coach?” Kasumi broke the silence first. She didn’t handle people around her being down in the dumps well. That was more Sumire’s; she wasn’t sure Kasumi had ever had to confront an overwhelming sadness of her own. Kasumi was always too busy breaking Sumire out of her own: After a meet went poorly, after getting a lower grade on a test, after finding out Kasumi had started dating her crush… ‘It’s weird how all of my lowest moments involve my sister, somehow.’ Sumire imagined shaking her head, as if getting the intrusive thoughts out of the way.

Coach still hadn’t replied. She was trying, but her voice was hoarse. She tried again but it came out like a croak.

“My brother’s alive.”

“What?” The twins said in unison.

Minako cleared her throat. “He called me earlier.” She looked at the twins. “Did we ever explain the seal to you? Basically, he gave his life to seal away death. The seal broke, so now he’s alive.”

Nobody said anything for a minute.

“Well, that’s not as strange as everything else going on.” Sumire nodded at Kasumi’s words. 

Minako had to clear her throat again. “I’ve been happy crying since he called. I spent all night and the morning sobbing.” Her laugh sounded like it hurt. “I want off Mr. Bones’ wild ride.”

The twins laughed at her. “Is he coming to Tokyo?” Minako nodded.

“Him and Aigis are coming.” She pointed at her phone. “He’s going to enroll at Shujin. Kirijo pulled some strings.”

Sumire was confused. “Isn’t he your twin?”

“Yep!” Her voice wasn’t back to normal but talking seemed to perk up Minako.

“So, why is he in high school?”

“Yeah, coach, is he stupid or something?”

“Ha! He’s not stupid, but I’m using that when he gets here.” She laughed to herself. “‘Man, what would mom think, Minato, knowing that you got held back all those years?’ He’s going to kill me.” She must’ve come up with some other ideas, because she kept murmuring to herself then laughing.

“Thank you for coming to be with me,” she said after she stopped talking to herself like a mad woman. “If you want to hang out ‘til he gets here, you could meet him.”

The twins looked at each other. Their father was still working extra hours trying to cover the train accident and subsequent death of a Prime Minister candidate and their mother was the less strict of the two parents. “I’ve heard so much about him, I’d like to see if he lives up to the eulogizing.” Sumire snickered at her sister’s remark. 

“Did you guys have a funeral? Getting a photo of him posing with the headstone would be pretty funny.” 

“Oh, he’s going to like you a  _ lot. _ ”

===

Being at the apartment right now was really weird. ‘ _ Really, really weird, _ ’ Makoto thought. Mom and dad were both right there in front of her, mom getting ready for dinner and dad reading a newspaper, trying to catch up on what he’d missed in the time he was dead. 

He wouldn’t speak of where he went and when she asked if he had died, he just waved her off. 

“I don’t want to think about that, Mako.” She supposed it was a fair response, but she also felt she was owed an explanation. She felt Sae was owed an explanation even moreso. She had been forced to grow up even faster and work her ass off so she could feed herself and her younger sister. ‘If somebody hadn’t changed her heart before we could, she probably would have committed a crime just to win a case.’ Makoto didn’t know if it were true that Sae had a change of heart but it was the only sensible explanation. Nobody turned around their behavior that quickly.

Sae had returned to work while she and Shirogane worked on a way to get the Police Department back in order without tipping off that they knew about what really happened to Shido: The department was in awful disarray: Many higher ups were trying to either retire or resign discreetly.

‘On the bright side, dad won’t have a hard time getting his job back. Hell, they might make him Chief. He’s the only veteran without a stained record.’

God, that would be her worst nightmare. She had no intention of stopping her work as a Phantom Thief. She couldn’t bear it if her father became one of their nemeses. 

It killed her that she’d spent so long mourning the death of her father and now she couldn’t even talk to him. Any discussion even remotely uncomfortable, he backed out of it immediately.

And mom being alive? That didn’t make any sense. Makoto barely remembered her mother; the only thing she was ever told was ‘Oh, Makoto, you make me miss your mom so much.’ That was the extent of what Makoto knew. Her mom died when she was much younger. Dad, being a mental shutdown victim, it at least made sense he was back. But mom? She’d had an illness. A bad bout with pneumonia and a month long fight took her life. She shouldn’t have been alive. Her death was about as natural of a death that a 30-year-old woman could have. 

She didn’t even look much older than Sae, right now. That was the strange part. It was like she was the same age today as she was on the day she died. 

Makoto went to bed early that night. Her stomach hurt and a migraine prevented her from studying for exams. 

Tomorrow would be a long day.

===

**MA:** My brother is coming to town tonight

**RA:** Told you he was alive

**RA:** also

**RA:** What

**SY:** I said we should take him to get a picture with his headstone

**KY:** Minako okayed the idea

**MN:** I wish my dad was okay with that

**RA:** I feel like you’re insinuating something

**MN:** My mom and dad are alive

**RA:** Wait. Your dad makes sense. 

**RA:** none of this makes sense, but that almost makes sense I mean

**MN:** right there with you

**MN:** mom died of natural causes

**GA:** now I have to meet the parents, too?

**MN:** they’re easy. Dad seems afraid of negative emotion

**MN:** I tried to talk to him about how hard Sae worked and he refused.

**MA:** I’m sorry, Makoto

**RS:** That’s irritating.

**RA:** reminds me of Futaba

**FS:** F in the chat for Ren’s leaked nudes

**SY:** please don’t

**RA:** I don’t have nudes.

**FS:** that you know of

**MN:** 1) that’s illegal 2)now isn’t the time

**RA:** thanks for having my back, queen.

**RA:** need help with it? 

**MN:** I’ll wait for Sae to get home

**FS:** upon further deliberation with mother we have come to an agreement that Ren was correct. No nudes shall be dispensed.

**KY:** buzzkill

**SY:** KASUMI

===

**RA:** Do you want me there tonight?

**MA:** No. Kasumi and Sumire are here. They should be enough to keep me from being a mess.

**RA:** Ok. lmk when I can meet him.

**MA:** This weekend. Focus on exams.

**RA:** don’t remind me.

===

_ Evening _

An unknown number ran across Minako’s screen that she assumed belonged to her brother’s driver. She was correct. 

“Is this Minako?” The man had a nice voice.

“Yes, this is her.”

“I’ll bring your brother and his friends upstairs.”

Minako didn’t realize there’d be others. ‘Maybe Shinjiro came!’ That would be great, Minako thought. He was so surly but he had his moments of hilarity, plus he was the best cook she’d ever met. 

Her heart sank when she heard a shrill voice belonging to the worst being in existence.

“Oh, no.” 

“Coach, what’s wrong?” Sumire asked

“Girls, hi-” It was too late. Teddie had already infiltrated the apartment.

“Mina-tan! I missed you!” His eyes moved to the twins. “Oh, who are these two lovely ladies?”

Sumire, always afraid to be impolite, bowed and introduced herself and her sister. Kasumi just said, “sup?”

“Jesus, Teddie, did you really have to barrel ahead like that?” Minako knew that voice, pushing past Teddie and scurrying to the elevator to greet her brother. The second he was off, she hugged him nearly as tightly as Aigis had. She was right behind him exiting the elevator. 

“Fuck, sis, have you been snorting protein with Akihiko again?”

She broke the hug and smacked him in the back of the head.

“Now you will  _ never _ do that to me again!” The Twins already knew not to mess with their coach but they’d never seen her look at anyone like that.

“Ow! Glad to see nothing’s changed with you.” He rubbed the top of his head where she’d smacked. “I missed you, too, Minako.”

“I missed you. I was  _ so _ miserable. It was like part of me was dead.” Minato laughed at his sister.

“You’re a fucking nerd.”

“And you’re still a heartless asshole, but I love you anyway.”

They entered the room where Teddie was making painfully awkward and innuendo filled conversation with Sumire, which, of course, Kasumi was egging on. 

“C’mon, Sumire, don’t you want Teddie’s help in  _ scoring a hot stud _ ?” ‘Oh, god, this conversation.’

“Kasumi, stop it. You know what you’re doing,” Minako scolded when she got back. Kasumi looked over and noticed a newcomer followed by a fairly tall blonde woman with emotionless expressions. She was wearing a blue dress and parts of her arms looked off color. The newcomer, however, was the spitting image of Minako. 

“Oh, wow, he’s definitely your twin.” She thought for a second. “Ain’t he a little young?”

“Yeah. I’m technically 16. When I was brought back, I was brought back exactly as I was.”

“That mean you’re single?” Sumire shot her sister a nasty look.

“Nope.” Minato was hoping to rekindle something with Yukari when she returned.

“Oh. That’s good. I’m not either.” Kasumi thought of Souji and immediately felt guilty. ‘A girl has needs,’ she thought, then thought about how enabling herself to have those thoughts was pretty toxic. Then a third thought about the guy standing in front of her told her a little bit of fantasizing was healthy. Then a fourth thought, one letting her know she was staring without speaking, entered her brain, and she went and sat back down awkwardly.

She expected to be admonished by Sumire but it was the blonde girl who had yet to speak. There was something intimidating about her presence, but Kasumi couldn’t quite put a finger on it.

“His heart already belongs to another.” The words themselves might have sounded romantic out of the mouth of someone else, but they had no emotion behind them. She was either a robot or a sociopath.

“Aigis, stand down.” Minato was quick to get her to disengage. “Sorry, she’s overprotective. She hasn’t said much to me since I got back but I’m betting she blames herself for my death.”

“If only I had-”

“Aigis! I’m happy to see you. You didn’t do anything wrong.” Minako laughed. 

“Hey, Aigis, how come you aren’t that protective over me?”

“Have you ever died?”

Minako thought for a second. “Point taken.” Aigis could be funny on occasion but nobody was ever sure if it was on purpose. She definitely wasn’t programmed with the potential for humor. 

“Coach, is Aigis a-” Minako didn’t let her finish.

“It’s hard to explain. Is she a robot? Kind of?” She looked at Minato. “Do you have a better explanation?”

“No, ‘kind of?’ really covers it. Kirijo could probably give you a better idea. I’m sure she’ll be around.” 

“Yeah, she always comes around more often when you’re involved.” Minako prodded him a little in the ribs. 

“Can we please not do this in front of strangers? You’re lucky Yukari isn’t here.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “So, uh, how’s Yukari?”

“Who’s the nerd, now?”

The Yoshizawa Twins really needed to study for their exams, which wasn’t possible when Minako and Minato were together. Sumire and Kasumi, however, definitely learned some things that night that had nothing to do with their exams.

===

Sae had given up her bedroom for her parents, leaving her the couch. Having a long day at work then coming home to sleep on the couch reminded Sae of college, where her apartment wasn’t quite big enough to fit a bed. 

She was getting ready to call it a night and turn off the TV when Makoto came out of her room in comfy pants and a light jacket.

“Sis, care to take a walk with me?” Sae hadn’t laid down yet but she was in her pajamas. From the looks of it, Makoto had been in her pajamas when she decided to take a walk.

“Yeah. Just let me grab a jacket.”

The two made their way down the stairs instead of taking the elevator. They both preferred the stairs on occasion, especially on days when they weren’t going to get enough exercise. They made it outside. Today had been a warm spring day but it still got a bit chilly at night, cold enough Sae could see her breath in the air. Her sister blew like she was smoking a cigarette and Sae laughed.

“You still do that?”

“It’s a bad habit. I stopped but then I saw Goro do it.” She sighed. “I think he actually just wanted a cigarette though.”

“Dad used to get mad at us for that. ‘Cigarettes are so bad for you girls, I don’t even want to see you joke about it.’” Makoto laughed at Sae’s impression. She wasn’t the kind of person who normally did impressions. 

“He would definitely be proud of us.” Makoto thought for a second. “Is proud of us. Is. Right?”

Sae looked down. “You’ve noticed it, too.” Makoto nodded. “It doesn’t feel right, does it?”

“He feels like he’s afraid. He may not have died, but something happened that he isn’t talking about.”

“And why is mom here?”

“I don’t have an answer for that, either. She wasn’t a mental shutdown.” They’d made it to a park down the road from them. The trees blocked out the sky, but there was a clearing in the middle that led to one of the only places in Tokyo where they could see the moon from the sky. Sae looked up. “I don’t know if she’s really our mom.”

“What do you mean?” Makoto joined Sae in examining the moon. 

“You know how you guys change hearts?” Makoto nodded. “Everything is cognitive. But if you can enter the cognitive world, why couldn’t a cognition enter ours?” Makoto thought for a second. 

“I think I understand. Do you think mom is a shadow?”

“No. I think she might be dad’s cognition.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like giving really melodramatic names to fairly lighthearted chapters, in case you haven't figured that out by now. 
> 
> Minato is mostly extremely confused all the time. That's what happens when you've been dead for 8 years. These next few chapters are full of introductions, again, because he's never actually met any of these people. 
> 
> Writing author's notes is difficult when you've already written the next few chapters.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	21. Face Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning:
> 
> Physical abuse, narcissistic behavior, etc. If your parents suck/sucked and you're still suffering from it, in the form of PTSD or actual abuse, maybe just go into this chapter knowing some people also have bad parents.

_ Sunday, May 15, Morning _

Exams went as well as Ren had expected. He couldn’t recall a single question that stumped him and he turned in the same essay he’d been turning in for the last 100 years. He knew Kawakami better than she knew herself at this point, so finding a way to pander to her biases took little effort. If there were ever a time he wouldn’t ace his exams, however, it was this one. There were too many moving parts and too many unknown variables in this loop. Ren would be lying if he said he knew what was happening next. He’d had to put his foot down with Minako the last few days. 

He really wanted to meet her brother but he really couldn’t lose focus. If this run of infinite time loops were really broken, he was going to finish top of his class and get into a good school. He could finally move on with his life and he wasn’t going to let all of his hard work in his past lives go to waste. 

Today? Ren was going to reward himself. Tomorrow would be another sort of ordeal. Minako’s 16-year-old twin brother was going to be joining Ren’s class at Shujin, which meant another person to take care of. He had told her it wasn’t any trouble, and it wasn’t, but Ren really had to think about how much time he had available to give. It wasn’t much. Plus, associating with him right off the bat wasn’t going to endear Minato to the rumor mill. 

Tomorrow was going to suck for everyone, so Ren decided today was going to be spent with his girlfriend. They were going to go on another date and ignore the fact that nothing around them made sense. ‘Sorry, Minako. Sorry, Makoto. Sorry, well, pretty much everyone. I need a break.’

Ren stood up from his spot on the couch and put on some clothes; jeans and a black dress shirt was his go to on days off, but he thought about maybe asking Ann for help in coming up with something more fashionable. ‘I can’t let Sumire get bored from looking at me,’ he thought sarcastically, knowing that probably wouldn’t happen. 

Sojiro shouted upstairs that his friend had just walked in. He supposed he needed to head downstairs.

===

Kasumi and Souji had a plan similar to Ren and Sumire and little did they know, it would lead them to the same place. Ren, of course, played it off like it didn’t bother him, probably because it didn’t bother him at all. Kasumi and Souji weren’t the people stressing him out. 

It wasn’t that Ren thought any less of Minako or Makoto, or anyone else. He just needed a break and sometimes a break consists of something different. He’d never been on a double date before anyway, so maybe this would be good life experience for somebody who had more of it than was ever going to be appropriate. 

Both couples had planned a day at Inokashira Park; Sumire had brought along with her enough food to feed her and Ren, which she ended up needing a duffle bag for, and to Kasumi’s surprise, Souji had cooked for her. She didn’t know Souji could cook. 

It turns out, he couldn’t, and Ren and Sumire had to ration out their food.

“It’s okay, Souji,” Kasumi said but everyone could hear the disappointment in her voice. “I can’t cook, either.” 

“You really can’t,” Sumire said. “It’s really amazing how easily you mess up even the simplest of recipes.” She shared a story about the time Kasumi lit their home on fire trying to make instant ramen. Kasumi’s face was  _ bright _ red, but she wasn’t blushing. “Calm down, Kasumi. You know it’s funny.”

“It’s  _ not funny _ !” But instead of attacking, she shrunk down and spoke quietly. “It was really embarrassing.”

“You know, if you’d just ask nicely, I might teach you a couple things.” Sumire spoke in a condescending tone that would probably infuriate her sister more.

Instead, Kasumi sighed and took a deep breath. “Sumire, will you teach me how to cook?”

“Yes, Kasumi. We can start today.”

“Cool. I’m going to be better than you after today!” Ren and Souji shared a look, both rolling their eyes. 

“Kasumi, it’s not a competition,” Souji interjected. “Yu is an incredible cook and he’s taught me a few things, but I’ll admit I get too ambitious for my own good.”

“It’s not my fault your brother is actually cool! You don’t have to deal with feeling inferior to such a loser.” 

“Excuse you?” Sumire chucked a piece of bread at her sister. 

Ren and Souji backed away, sharing an unrelated conversation while the twins fought it out in the middle of a public park. A policeman had walked by and questioned what was happening but laughed when Ren explained.

“I remember being that way with my brother,” he said, chuckling. “Let me know if you need a first aid kit.”

‘Sure, the twins have their problems,’ Ren thought. ‘But I can live with this.’ He really enjoyed his Sunday double date, even if it ended in a double knockout.

===

“God! Now I know how Ken feels!” Minato shouted at his sister, slamming the door to his new bedroom.

“I’m just trying to make sure you’re ready for school tomorrow!” Minako was really excited to have her newly-resurrected and now-little brother back and she couldn’t prevent herself from doting. She had taken him back to school shopping and went completely overboard. Everything was on Kirijo’s dime anyway, so who was the real loser here?

Minato didn’t shout anything back, so Minako knew he was in full-on sulk-mode. ‘God, I really forgot how much of a pain in the ass we both were at 16.’

“I’m sorry, Minato.” She felt bad. Just three days into having her brother back and they were back bickering constantly. Every little thing led to a fight because, well, he was 16, and Minako had always wanted a baby brother. That was normally Ken’s role, but Ken was out of the picture. It hadn’t helped that Aigis had stayed behind. It wasn’t because of any ill-will towards Aigis that she didn’t want her around, it was just because Aigis had no sense of privacy. 

Minako had forgotten about that until Aigis walked into the bathroom while she was getting dressed after a shower. Minako may or may not have been singing to herself.

“I thought I heard something dying. I was simply trying to ensure your safety.”

“God dam- ah.” Minako sighed. “Thanks, Aigis.” It wasn’t worth trying to explain to her why she shouldn’t do that. She wasn’t going to understand anyway. 

Minako could live with Aigis. She was still pleasant to be around and her presence was comforting. She was just glad Minato convinced Kirijo to take back Teddie. The former-shadow was a unifying force keeping Minako and Minato from killing each other that first day, because they almost killed him instead. 

“How the fuck did Yu deal with you for a  _ year _ ?” Minato had lost his temper, but Teddie was too dense to realize it. “How did Yosuke live with you for so long? How does Kirijo do it?” 

Minako didn’t point out that Minato hadn’t had enough interaction with Yosuke to realize he was every bit as obnoxious as Teddie.

Well, he’d grown up a bit since they first met. But he was really obnoxious that first day. 

It was probably best to avoid telling Minato he’d tried to hit on Yukari.

Speaking of. 

Yukari should be returning home today, something Minato was looking forward to. Minako expected it to go well but she still had some worries. What if she hadn’t reacted in the way Minato was expecting?

He was already brooding. Minako just hoped it wouldn’t get worse.

===

Sae was at work, leaving Makoto at home alone with her parents, a struggle she never thought she’d have. Makoto really wanted to enjoy being around her father again; it was obvious he loved her and Sae very much but the strain grew from his inability to talk about where he was the last several years.

They’d been eating breakfast when Makoto tried to address the elephant in the room with both of her parents. Something had happened to her father. The second she asked what exactly happened, he got up from the table and left, leaving her alone with her mother; the mother she wasn’t sure was anything more than a cognition.

“I can’t get through to him, either, Makoto.” Her red eyes were sad; Makoto imagined now what she must have looked like before she joined the Phantom Thieves. “He doesn’t get that he can’t just disappear for years like that.”

Makoto nodded. She was surprised her mother was so lucid. In her experiences, cognitions often had a one track mind. 

“It’s hard for me, too.” She’d made scrambled eggs but she hadn’t made much headway into eating them. “Your father isn’t acting like the man I love.” She took a bite and made a show of swallowing, maybe not on purpose. It was more like swallowing was a struggle, like she was swallowing a piece of paper covered in staples. “I’m not even sure why I’m here.”

“What do you mean?” Makoto had taken her mother’s free hand.

“I remember being very, very sick.” She looked at the food like she was going to take another bite, but she put her fork down. “I remember a little Makoto sitting next to me when the coughing started. We were watching Buchimaru. Everything after that is a blur. I remember laying in a hospital bed, your sister complaining about having to miss school.” She bit her lip. She looked much older in this moment; she typically looked more like Sae’s older sister than her mother. “She was always such a hard worker. I felt terrible for taking her away from that.”

“Mom…”

“You don’t have to call me that.” She shook her head. “I don’t know if I’m your mother.” Tears were starting to escape the corners of her eyes. 

“I’m going to call you that, anyway.” Makoto tried to provide a comforting smile. “You didn’t ask for this, did you?” She shook her head.

“I had a dream life. I didn’t age. I had two little girls who were content to go to school and come home and play cops and robbers. They never got older and neither did I.” She looked at Makoto. “You made the cutest little thief.” Makoto blushed. “Sae always made the funniest cop. She would take it so seriously.”

Makoto let out a small laugh.

“She never did catch you, though.” She thought for a second. “The last few times you played, she’d even help you, a few times.” She had stopped crying and then she met out a motherly laugh. “I had to explain that you couldn’t just throw thieves in jail without a trial first. Then she decided she wanted to be a lawyer.”

“It sounds like not much has changed, then.”

“I know your sister doesn’t trust me.” She stated it without the overwhelming sadness Makoto had expected. “It’s okay. Makoto. Did I die?” Makoto nodded. “Then that explains why. Did your father die?”

“That’s murkier. Yes and no.” Her mother nodded.

“I suspected as much. I’m going to get through to your father. It’s the least I can do.” She took a bite of her food. “I feel better. I think I can fix this and I think we can be happy again.”

Makoto gave her mom a hug. Cognition or not, she’d earned a hug.

===

Yukari was known among their group for not checking her phone when she was out on business. Somebody like Rise might understand her when she said that she couldn’t just turn “it” off when she was supposed to be working. If she had to be in a role, or around fans, she had to be in that role the whole time or else she’d start making mistakes, whether that meant flubbing lines or having a bad interaction with a fan. This meant she would be exhausted by the time she got home from Kyoto.

It also meant that she had no idea that her dead, still 16-year-old boyfriend would be waiting for her when she got back.

She pulled into their parking garage and boarded the elevator. ‘I’m going to eat a bucket-full of instant ramen and pass out and it is going to be incredible.’ 

She got off the elevator and entered their living space when she saw a familiar head of black-near-blue hair staring forward at the TV, watching an episode of her show. ‘There’s no way.’ Hearing her approach, he turned around. Had she checked her phone, she’d have known he was waiting.

“Yukari.” She never thought she’d hear him say her name again. She fell into a hug. “It’s nice to get a hug. I half expected you to point a gun at me.” She’d have slapped him if she wasn’t too busy enjoying his embrace.

===

_ Afternoon _

**RF:** can you come pick me up?

**TT:** omw

At least something went right today, Rio thought.

===

‘Well, that garden isn’t going to water itself,’ Sato Tanaka thought to himself as he made his way towards his backyard, if it could even be called that. He loved living in Tokyo and being this close to Central Street was great but he was getting too old for the crowded city. He remembered purchasing this home thinking it would get him away from the craziness, but it managed to find him, somehow. 

Gardening was his escape from it and he was quite good at it. He was particularly proud of his cucumbers, which came in by the dozen, especially this year since the monsoon season was being extremely kind. He never could get the watermelons to come in as he wanted and the peppers he grew were never as good as the ones he’d gotten on his visits overseas. They were close, though, and his salsa was often a hit whenever the family got together. He even learned how to make the chips himself.

Retirement had been fun, for all the complaining he did about being in the city. He pulled the hose attached to the house to his 10 by 12 backyard. More than half of it was taken up by his garden. He’d started walking back down the left side of his house when he heard shouting coming from inside the home next door. ‘The craziness always manages to find me,’ he thought. He couldn’t prevent himself from looking in the window. He watched the short young girl, Rio. Her father, a large man in an athletic sense, was giving her an earful that Sato couldn’t quite make out. He would have walked away and stopped his peeping, had he not seen the father take a swing.

He ran into his own house and dialed 119.

===

“How did exams go?” It was the first time Rio’s father had spoken with her since the train accident. Neither him nor her mother believed a word they were told about Rio’s involvement. They only knew she was hanging out with a sleazy older woman who claimed to be a doctor and a couple of “carpet-munchers,” her mother had called Ann and Shiho. 

“They went well.” Rio wanted the conversation to end as quickly as possible. Her reply came too quickly for her father, who prodded further.

“Only well? Rio, without your volleyball scholarship, you need to be focused on your academics.” Her father warned. “Shujin might not allow you to stay in the school if you don’t keep up your grades.”

“Because it was my idea to quit the team.” Rio couldn’t stop herself from voicing her frustrations. She knew it was a bad idea. Her father had a temper.

“Do you want to repeat that for me?” He had an edge to his voice that she was used to. It was her warning.

“I’m only saying that mom forced me to quit.” Rio tried to repeat her intention without it coming off as an insult. Her father was already intent on taking it as an insult.

“She forced you to quit because it is now a dead-end program.” He spoke slowly in a way that was frightening. “Without Suguru there, I don’t see how that school survives. We should see about getting you transferred to another school.”

Rio really wanted to walk away from this conversation. She so badly wanted to be away from home. “Dad, he was abusing people.”

He snorted. “You kids are all so soft these days. If it weren’t for coaches like Suguru when I was younger, I never would have made it anywhere.”

“He raped multiple people,  _ dad _ .” He wasn’t the only one who could provide an edge to his voice. 

“Oh, now you’re believing that?” He rolled his eyes. “You’ll believe anything the news tells you.”

“I’m friends with some of his victims. I don’t need the news.” She tried to keep her voice down. If she were to sound disrespectful, it wouldn’t end well.

It didn’t end well anyway.

“How about you spend your time worrying about your grades instead of your dyke friends’ business?” He raised his voice.

“ _ Don’t. _ Please don’t call them that.” She knew what would happen if she got any louder than that.

“It’s great that you run this fucking house now. I’m so glad you pay all the bills, and all the tuition money. You’re just so  _ grown _ now, right? You’ve even started lying to us.” He spat in her face. “Now you’re even making demands.” She’d reached up to wipe the spit off her cheek. Faster than she could react, a large fist collided with her jaw. 

The next thing she knew, she was on the ground in her bedroom watching the stars float at the top of her vision. She must have been dragged there. She tried to make it to her feet but she couldn’t do it alone. Luckily, her desk chair made a good aid to pull up on. She remembered being annoyed that her study chair was an old wooden kitchen table chair. She wanted a fancy spinny chair like they got in the computer labs at school. Today, she was thankful her parents were cheap.

She grabbed her phone and fired off a text to Dr. Takemi. She checked her jaw. Something in it’s aligning felt off but she could move it, meaning it wasn’t broken. As gross as it felt, she stuck a finger inside her bloody mouth; the inside of the left cheek was bitten raw, little fragments of teeth embedded into the flesh. Her two back molars had been chipped and would need repaired.

“If only Shiho were here,” she’d said out loud. ‘Ouch.’ Talking hurt. ‘Now I need to make friends with a dentist.’

Rio was struggling to keep her head up, so she sat in her desk chair, content to stare at the wall for a few minutes. She fell asleep seconds later.

===

Dr. Takemi grabbed Goro from reception at the front desk of her Yongen-Jaya office and the two hopped in the car.

“Rio said she needed me to pick her up.” Goro didn’t argue, he just nodded. ‘He’s gotten good at following orders without asking questions.’

She’d been driving faster than was normally acceptable but she somehow made it to the same neighborhood as the safehouse in one piece. Goro had white knuckles from gripping the vehicle’s armrests too hard. 

They pulled out front of Rio’s house around the same time the police had arrived. They were talking to who Tae assumed was her father. He was a large man, gesturing wildly with his hands. His right hand had blood on it. Takemi got out of the car and approached the man and the officer. She was dressed more professionally today, so hopefully she could avoid being called scum this time. She’d had black slacks and a green shirt and a black top over it. She kept the choker, though, which meant she would, of course, get a nasty look from the man.

“Who’re you?” He cut off his conversation with the cop to address Tae. She got the impression that the officer wasn’t the one in control of that conversation.

“I’m Dr. Tae Takemi. I received a text letting me know Rio wasn’t safe.” She looked at the officer. “This isn’t the first time this has happened.”

The officer looked at her then looked back. “Ma’am, I don’t know what your connection here is, but he said she just mouthed off to him.”

“Have you actually gone inside to check up on her?” She glared at Rio’s father, but she was speaking to the officer. The father’s bloody fist told Tae all she needed to know.

“I haven’t been granted access.”

“Well, given I have no arresting power, am I allowed into the home?” She pulled out her phone and showed both Rio’s father and the officer the message. “She asked me to come pick her up. She doesn’t feel safe here.” She looked at the father. “You obviously don’t want her here, anyway.”

“Whatever. You don’t need to be a bitch about it. You aren’t taking my kid.” His tone raised and the officer winced.

“Sir, I’m going to need you to calm down, or I  _ will _ be taking your kid.” 

“You have no right to enter my home!” He yelled at the cop. The argument was going nowhere. Tae decided to leave and head back to her car, when she looked to the right side of the house. She couldn’t help but grin when she heard the noise of a window screen clattering to the ground and she saw Rio climbing out of her bedroom window. The grin disappeared when she saw Rio’s face, battered and bloody. Tae sent Rio a quick text message.

**TT:** go to the street behind the house. I’ll meet you there.

**RF:** okay

===

Rio was still seeing stars but she knew she had to get out of that house. She jolted awake when she heard her father shouting at what she assumed was a police officer on the front porch. She packed what she could in a duffle bag: Two pairs of pajamas, her school uniform, and a couple t-shirts and jeans along with her laptop. She also grabbed her backpack, which had her school books and homework in it. Then she opened her window and kicked out the screen.

She ran as fast as she could, in her state, and climbed her neighbor’s back fence, hopefully not drawing any attention. She then walked as casually as a young girl with a mangled jaw could towards the street. 

A black sedan pulled up, and she got in the back seat.

===

Tae was rattled when she saw Rio’s face; she was initially planning to take her back to the safehouse but she made the split second decision that her injuries were more serious than she could treat at the safehouse. Yongen-Jaya wasn’t too far away.

“Goro, make sure she stays awake. If she’s got a concussion, she needs to stay conscious.”

Goro nodded.

“Rio, are you going to be in school tomorrow?” Goro tried to keep his voice soft. He wasn’t sure what her mental state was but he didn’t imagine someone who just got their lights punched out would be doing great.

“I’ll be there,” her voice sounded sleepy. “Dad wouldn’t be very happy if I skipped class.” Tae winced a bit. “Volleyball will be fun. I hope Kamoshida-sensei isn’t too upset that I missed practice.”

“I’m sure you’ll be okay.” Goro didn’t correct her. She only needed comfort right now. She obviously wasn’t thinking correctly. “Have you started doing aikido with Niijima-san again?”

She gave a uniquely unsettling laugh and replied “No, but apparently I should, right?” She was quiet for a second but replied before Goro could ask her another question. “My face hurts so bad dude. That guy is a real motherfucker.” Tae laughed, not used to her speaking that way. “Oh, wait, he’s a literal motherfucker.” The unsettling laugh again. “I hate my dad.”

“Me too, Rio-san.”

They pulled into the small lot behind the clinic. Goro ushered Rio in while Tae stayed in the car, searching for the non-emergency number.

“I’d like to file a police report.” It took a second for the operator to get the paperwork. “This report is filed on behalf of Rio Fujinami. I helped her escape a hostile situation from her parents. Their names are Hiroshi and Reiko Fujinami. I haven’t had time to examine the wound but her father had a bloody right hand when I got there, and her face is bruised like it was punched.” The operator said something. “Uh huh.” Something else. “She’s safe with me right now. I don’t mind taking care of her. I just wanted to file a report before they reported her missing. An officer was already at the house. He provided the distraction for me to get her out of there.” 

===

_ Afternoon _

**GA:** Rio is at the clinic w/ us

**SS:** What happened?   
**GA:** Think her dad knocked her out

**GA:** she got a bad concussion which means no pain meds yet

**GA:** if anyone can come help me keep her awake I’d appreciate it

**SS:** omw

**FS:** I’ll come too

===

Futaba had been hanging out at LeBlanc with Sojiro since her mother had been adamant that she work on a Sunday. Kirijo was usually pretty good about giving Sundays off, so Futaba assumed it had something to do with whatever was bothering Ren. She couldn’t get answers from anyone on what happened and none of them were talking about it. Futaba would know: She had their phones bugged. 

She needed a distraction; what better distraction than helping someone in need? ‘What is wrong with me? Am I really going to willingly socialize with a stranger?’

‘I’m going to have to have a talk with Ren. He’s obviously being a bad influence.’

Entering the clinic, she noted the lack of loud music that Ren had told her was always prevalent. There was nobody at reception; ‘Goro must be in back with Rio.’ Futaba thought she should just head back but she didn’t really know anyone there. She mulled over her options: Head back and awkwardly make conversation with Goro, who she knew a little bit better than Rio and the doctor, or wait for Shiho, who she knew a lot better and liked, but Shiho hated her.

“I… well I guess I will wait for Shiho,” she said out loud, drawing the attention of Goro, who could hear her from the back. 

“Futaba, I’m so glad you’re here, come on back. I’m running out of things to talk about and we’re still trying to keep her awake.” It had been about an hour since they got back to the clinic and Takemi was really struggling in treating Rio. She would be in too much pain for her to disinfect the wound inside her mouth and too many painkillers would put her to sleep, putting her in danger of never waking back up. 

“Well, I don’t know how exactly I’ll help, but I can try.” Goro laughed at her.

“Just tell her a game or something. She’s willing to be distracted. Just don’t mention volleyball or her parents.”

Futaba nodded. “Okay. I think I can do that.”

“We only need to keep her awake for a little longer. We’ll only need to worry if she’s dazed for another ten minutes or so,” Goro repeated what Takemi had told him a half hour ago.

“Gotcha.” Futaba headed back.

Futaba hadn’t been back there for more than a few minutes when Shiho showed up. She wasn’t sure if she was wanted there or not. The normal vitriol in Shiho’s stare was replaced with one of concern for Rio. 

“Hey, doc, want to go in the other room for a minute?” Futaba knew what Shiho was going to try. If she could summon in the real world during the train incident, she could probably summon now. Takemi gave her an odd look, but obliged.

“Okay, Rio,” Shiho started. “I don’t know how well you’re feeling, but nobody outside this room hears about this.” She looks at Futaba. “And that goes doubly for you, because you’re so shit at keeping secrets.”

“I’m hurt.” Futaba feigned a pout. “But it was just your secret I was bad about keeping.”

“Still, I’d be okay if you fucked off.”

“What did Futaba do?” Rio asked innocently, still in a mild daze. The dizziness had calmed a lot since she got to the clinic. The pain was more debilitating and actually talking hurt, so her words were a bit slurred. 

“Nothing. I’m going to try and fix this.” Shiho concentrated and whispered “Eris.” But nothing happened. She tried again. “Eris.” Nothing happened. “Diarama.” Nothing happened. 

“Fuck!” Rio winced at Shiho’s swearing. “Oh, Rio, I’m sorry.”

Rio shot Shiho a nasty glare.

“Oh, right, no apologizing.” Shiho laughed. “Doc, come back in, she’s at least feeling well enough to give me nasty looks!” 

Shiho pulled out her phone.

**SS:** how busy are you?

**MA:** I’m kind of tied up rn. Sup

**SS:** Need an evoker.

**MA:** Mine’s back home. Sorry

“Well, that fucking blows.” She sighed. “Sorry, Rio.”

Takemi was finally able to give Rio a painkiller. She was asleep within a few minutes.

“What exactly were you trying to do?” Takemi gave Shiho a look.

“Remember how nobody was hurt after the train accident?” Takemi nodded. “I was trying that.” Shiho was really frustrated. “I can try it again after school tomorrow. Our volleyball coach has a similar, um, thing to me.”

“Well, I’d rather be there if you’re trying anything experimental, but I don’t see how anything experimental will fix what happened.”

“Nobody ever sees it coming,” Futaba quipped, and Shiho laughed.

“You hang out with Ren too much.”

“I know!”

“You all hang out with Ren too much,” Takemi corrected.

===

“Hiroshi, what the fuck did you do?” Reiko Fujinami could barely contain her anger at her husband.

“She kept mouthing off!” 

“So you fucking slugged her?”

“It was her fault!”

“I’m not saying it wasn’t. I’m saying you let yourself be seen! You fucking asshole.” She sighed. “I can’t believe we’re one of  _ those _ families.” This was not how she envisioned her life going. 

“We don’t even know where she’s at now.” He slammed his fist into the wall.

“Yeah. We do.” Reiko said quietly.

“Where?”

“She’s with that doctor, probably.”

“Do we report her missing?”

“What? So the cops can find her with a broken fucking jaw and you get taken in?” Reiko gave a smile, but it wasn’t a friendly one. “We make her come back to us. If we’re lucky, she’ll be crawling back.”

===

Futaba and Shiho left the clinic together.

“Shiho, want to come to LeBlanc with me?” Futaba asked, realizing she probably sounded a bit off. She was nervous.

“For what? No offense, gremlin, but you aren’t on the top of my list of people I want to see right now.” Futaba winced, but nodded.

“That’s… that’s why I wanted to talk to you. I want to apologize.”

Shiho sighed. “Alright. I’ll get coffee with you.”

The two walked into LeBlanc. Futaba’s coffee was free, but she went out of her way to pay for Shiho’s. They took a booth together and Futaba couldn’t get her gaze away from the table. This wasn’t going to be simple like she’d hoped.

“I know what I did.” Futaba said. “And it wasn’t right. It wouldn’t have been right if we were even friends.”

Shiho nodded, as if telling her to keep going.

“I just thought things between you and Ann were so obvious that everyone knew. I figured, if I could tell you two had feelings for each other, shouldn’t everyone?” Futaba sighed. “I’m not the best with social interaction. I’m terrible at it. It’s why I’m always on a computer.” She looked at Shiho, finally looking up from the table. “I know that’s no excuse. I shouldn’t have outed you and Ann. An apology doesn’t fix any pain I may have caused, but I at least want us to try and be friends. All of this?” She gestured generally, as if encompassing everything. “It’s going to be really awkward if we can’t get along.”

Shiho met her eyes, stone faced.

Then she laughed.

“Futaba, you didn’t need to go that far for an apology. A text would have been fine.” Shiho gave a friendly smile. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t at least kind of enjoying giving you shit.”

Futaba’s eyes narrowed. “I  _ knew _ it.” 

Shiho, as if realizing she’d stepped in it by teasing a master hacker, tried to back track. “I mean, I get enjoyment out of being mean sometimes. I wasn’t just giving you shit. I was actually upset!”

“ _ Sure. _ Whatever you say Shiho.” Then she gave a friendly smile. “Either way. Friends?” She reached a hand out over the table.

“Friends.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew. I went back and did a quick skimming of this chapter before posting it and I must have been in a real mood when I wrote this.
> 
> Admittedly, it got a little heavy handed and I'd like to pretend that won't happen again but it will. 
> 
> Editor's notes are really hard to write when you wrote the chapter a week ago. I need to fix that.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING  
> I'll add this to the summary, as well. There's some things that I, personally, find disturbing in the next few chapters. I try to gloss over what I can because I feel a lot of writers really get caught up in gruesome description when it's not necessary. If I wanted to write horror, I'd write horror.

_ Monday, May 16, Morning _

Rio woke to the smell of cooking food in the morning, and while it didn’t smell appetizing, it would be the first time she’d been allowed breakfast since beginning her volleyball career. Her father was convinced allowing her to eat before school would make her fat and sluggish. This meant Rio was used to her stomach growling through the first four hours of the day until she could get to her bento; she’d also made a habit of buying food from the school store, as the bento was never enough. 

She hadn’t remembered much from the night before and her sleep was dreamless. Judging from her body odor, she knew she’d need a shower before going anywhere. She gathered her clothes and headed to the bathroom, which was empty, and turned on the light. She didn’t recognize the girl she saw.

Rio had never been in a fight in her life; she’d had her fair share of bruises because of volleyball and she’d eaten a couple of hard spikes to the face before, but the bruise beneath her jaw line was far more visible than one left by a ball. And, well, eating a spike was almost always an accident. Rarely ever did anyone spike a volleyball with the intention of wanting to hurt the other person. They just really wanted that point, which Rio understood. If she were tall enough to spike a ball, herself, she’d be slamming it down as hard as she could every single time. This mark was left by her father.

Her irrationally angry father, who thought the context behind her behavior was little more than an excuse. Her father, who got so angry about potentially low exam scores, ‘friends of low stature’ and the loss of his friends’ job that he hit her. 

She ran the hot water and cleaned up before heading back to her room to put on her school uniform. The food smelled better now, and Rio realized her stench was drowning out the smell. 

Eating would be difficult, though. The inside of her mouth was still raw, and her teeth on the left side of her mouth were in desperate need of  _ a lot _ . The rumor mill would be most unkind today. ‘I wonder what they’ll come up with?  _ I heard she tried to rob a house and got caught. I heard she was initiated into the yakuza. I heard the Phantom Thieves changed her heart. _

It was bound to be something insane. At least thinking of what they could say would mean what they actually did say would be less frustrating, right? ‘It won’t work out that way. It never does.’ She sighed and exited her room. Goro was standing over a pan full of scrambled eggs. 

“They’re easy, even for a homeless guy.” He’d said that with a smile and Rio was really beginning to respect his outlook on life. His life wasn’t easy, but he used the skills he’d learned even now that he didn’t have to. He didn’t let the circumstances surrounding him get to him. ‘That’s something I need to learn.’

“It reminds me of traveling, so I don’t mind it.” Tae was reading a newspaper. “Rio, I’m not trying to scare you or anything, but if you have any trouble at school today, call me immediately.”

Rio nodded.

“Are you going to rejoin the volleyball team?” Goro wasn’t sure whether or not that was a sore spot.

“I really want to. I plan to. But I don’t know if it’s the best idea right now.” She picked at the plate of food Goro had placed in front of her. It tasted fine. She was just too lost in thought to focus on eating. She really wanted to play volleyball again.

“Oh. I should tell you.” Tae looked up from the paper again. “I filed a police report last night and I let them know you’re living here. I’m looking into having charges pressed against your father.”

Rio tried to keep her face emotionless but part of her was terrified this could backfire. 

“I understand that this might make you uncomfortable. He’s still your father.” Rio nodded. “But you aren’t safe at home. I’ve been given permission to keep you with me, for now. If you’d like, I can look into gaining guardianship but it’s a long process.”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. In just a few weeks, her life had turned on its ear. She never imagined being at odds with her mother and father and she certainly never expected a near stranger to stick up for her as Tae had.

“I’ve been where you’re at before,” Goro spoke up. He didn’t mention just how messed up his life had become after his other died. “We’re both going to do whatever we can to prevent you from going through anything similar.”

Rio nodded and bit down on her lip. She couldn’t cry before school.

“Thank you, Dr. Takemi. Thank you, Goro.”

Her and Goro took the train to school together that day, meeting up with Makoto at their second first stop. Nobody spoke a word of the previous day’s events. Makoto would be by Takemi’s tomorrow to help with aikido lessons. Goro wanted to learn, too. 

===

Minako made a show of dropping her baby brother off at his new school on his first day, which made broody 16-year-old Minato spend the first 15 minutes of his day pouting.

“Bye, sweety! Have a fun first day!” Minako shouted out of the car as she dropped him off at the school gate. Unfortunately for Minato, it didn’t help that his sister was ‘hot,’ he’d been told a few times before he’d even gotten to the gate. Even more unfortunately, in Minato’s mind, was a tall frizzy-haired punk right there with a blond kid and a girl in a pink sweater to chuckle at Minako as she drove by. 

“You got something to say to me, asshole?” Minato decided not to take any shit his first day. He ran right up on the kid, who Minato thought laughed just a little too hard.

“Minato, right?” This threw him off his game. It must have shown on his face.

“Ren. Ren Amamiya. I’m friends with your  _ twin _ sister.” Minato’s eyes widened in recognition at the use of the word twin. 

“You’re  _ that _ guy?” Ren nodded. “Shit, Igor really has a type.” 

“Your sister said that, too.”

“Of course, she did.” Minato thought for a second. It made him reflect that he probably would have done the same thing to Minako if she were in his shoes. ‘I should probably stop being a dick.’ “Um, anyway. Sorry for trying to fight you.” He tried to put on a friendly face. “I’m Minato Arisato. I guess I, uh, transferred from Gekkoukan?”

Ryuji wasn’t up on the weirdness surrounding Minato as far as Minato could tell, and Haru might not know anything about Personas at all.

“Good meetin’ ya, Minato,” the blond guy replied. He was massive, but friendly Minato got the impression that he’d never hurt a fly. He was a bit loud, though. “I’m Ryuji Sakamoto. Just call me Ryuji.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Haru Okumura.” She was more polite, bowing when she introduced herself. “Just Haru is fine.”

“Happy to meet the three of you. I need to get to the faculty office, now.”

“I can show you, I just had to do this whole song and dance not that long ago.” Ren gave a smile. “What class you in?” 

“2-D,” Minato replied. 

“Oh, you’re in my class, then. You’ll like Kawakami. You two have a similar ‘mysterious brood’ thing going on, except she’s just a bitter teacher.” Minato laughed. Ren was trying very hard to make this transfer as easy as possible and he appreciated it. ‘It reminds me of Junpei.’

Speaking of the devil himself, the new Shujin volleyball coach barrelled down the hall as soon as Minato entered the building. 

“Minato! Buddy!” Junpei shouted, giving no care to the rumor mill. He hugged Minato. “I missed you so much, man. How’s being uh-” he looked around. “How’s being back?”

Minato laughed at Junpei’s enthusiasm. “How about I tell you at lunch? They got a roof here?”

Ren laughed. “Actually, that’s where we eat.”

“Well, why don’t I tell all of you?”

===

“I heard she tried to ask out the transfer student…”

“She came to school with that homeless kid. I wonder if he punched her…”

“I heard Suzui hit her during practice. It was an accident…”

‘Oh, wait, that last one is kind of true. Good job, rumor mill! You almost got one right!’ Rio thought and gave herself a little laugh. She’d said her goodbyes to her Senpai and made her way to the classroom when she was stopped by Ushimaru, who had been acting as principal in the absence of Kobayakawa. There were rumors there’d be a new hire sometime soon, but Rio knew not to trust the rumor mill.

“Rio, I need to speak to you for a second.” Rio followed him into the faculty office, where Ren and a new kid, skinnier and taller than he, were talking to Miss Kawakami. He must be a transfer. “Your parents called this morning trying to pull you out of Shujin.” Rio’s heart sank.

“They can’t!” Ushimaru must’ve been able to see the panic on her face because he expression softened, at least as much as it probably could. He was a bitter old man.

“I said they tried, not that they did.” Ushimaru pointed out. “We received a call from the police yesterday informing us of an altercation. Your father has been brought in on suspicion of abuse.”

“I can’t believe it…” Rio muttered.

“Anyway, they tried to pull your tuition, which would have removed you from our enrollment, but I guess the point of telling you all this, is that you need to go thank Coach Iori.”

“What’d Coach do?”

“And I quote. ‘What? I can’t lose Fujinami, she knows more about volleyball than i do.’” Ushimaru did an understated impression of Coach Iori.

Rio laughed. “The impressions don’t suit you, Sensei.”

“I can’t always be an angry old man,” he admonished Rio lightly. 

===

“I’m Minato Arisato. It’s nice to meet everyone.” He bowed and took a seat in the row to the right of Ren. ‘I wanted a window seat, damn it.’ Behind Ren was a foreign looking blond who Minato didn’t recognize but Ren seemed to be pretty friendly with.

“Minato, this is Ann, another friend of ours.” ‘Ours? I guess he’s the  _ any friend of Minako is a friend of mine _ type.’

“Nice to meet you, Minato.”

The school rumor mill had already started. Minato could tell.

===

“Why do we keep getting these weird transfers? …”

“Did you see the new guy with the delinquent? He’s tainting all of our new students…”

“What the hell even is that haircut? Seriously, it’s not 2009 anymore.”

Well, Ren couldn’t argue with that last one. He wasn’t even sure that could be classified as a rumor, not that his hair was any better. 

“My Harry Potter lookin’ ass probably doesn’t have much room to speak,” he’d told the newspaper club girl. ‘I never did learn her name.’

“Hey, newspaper club girl, what’s your name?”

Her expression changed to one of fear and she ran away.

‘Oh, yeah. I’m still a scary transfer student…’ He thought for a second. ‘Maybe I should join the newspaper club.’

===

Minato and Junpei made their way to the roof and realized just how crowded it was.

“Ya know, I’m probably supposed to tell all you kids that the roof is off limits.” He looked at Makoto. “Although, I’m betting you probably know that.” 

“What, is somebody going to jump off?”

“Hey, Makoto, I know you think that’s funny but…” Ren trailed off and looked at Shiho briefly. “Nevermind. Just, sorry.”

Ren looked around the roof, realizing they had a couple of civilians around. “Hey, Minato, let’s talk about something really quick.” He pulled the newcomer to the side and spoke in a hushed tone.

“Rio and Haru have no idea about all this stuff, so try and keep your story vague. “

“How do you guys hang out with normal people?” Minato thought about how homogeneous their group was.

“Well, they almost always end up joining at some point,” Ren laughed. “Haru is a bit scary, though, so I’m putting that one off.”

“The girl in pink with the fluffy hair?”

“Terrifying.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

“Alright, so I guess I can share my story,” Minato said, breaking away from his conversation with Ren. “Basically, I disappeared for awhile. It’s hard to explain how, so I’m not going to. I think you guys have all met Minako. She’s my-” he caught himself. “Older sister. She’s a giant pain in the ass, and I’d appreciate it if you guys did a better job of distracting her.”

Junpei laughed at his description.

“This guy is a pain in the ass, too.” He looked at Rio and Shiho, who were sitting near Ann. “You guys do a pretty good job of keeping him busy, though, so thanks for that.”

‘They seem like a decent group of kids. They’re a lot happier than we ever were.’

===

_ After School, Volleyball practice _

Shiho pulled Rio aside before practice started. 

“Rio, Coach Iori wants to see you in his office.” Rio thought about how scary that sentence would have been just one month ago. But now? It was a relief. She could thank Coach for helping her stay enrolled in the school. Shiho followed her to Iori’s office and when they walked in, he was just leaving.

“You leave it in the drawer?”

“Yup! Go ahead and fix ‘er up.”

“You make it sound like I’m a car.”

“Well, we are trying to keep you from running out of gas.” Shiho laughed at her own joke. Iori left the room. “Alright, face the wall, and don’t turn around. If you look, I’ll have to kill you.”

“Really?”

“No, but you’ll end up getting dragged into a lot of crazy shit you want nothing to do with.”

“Like I haven’t already been dragged into a lot of crazy shit that I wanted nothing to do with.” Rio rolled her eyes. 

“Point taken. Face the wall and don’t turn around. I’m going to fix that pretty little mouth of yours.”

“God, that really just sounds wrong, Shiho.”

“I was trying to think of a better innuendo, so thank your stars I couldn’t find one.” Shiho pulled something out of the drawer. The door was closed, and for a second Rio thought about how vulnerable she was. ‘What if Shiho is actually evil?’

Then she gets really anxious. The idea that someone is standing behind her with her in a vulnerable position is terrifying, even if that person is Shiho. She turned around to see Shiho with a gun pointed at her temple and a giant woman in a purple dress standing behind her. Rio’s heartbeat was in her ears, meaning she could barely make out Shiho call on her Persona.

In the next second, her teeth were back to normal and the inside of her mouth was no longer raw.

Shiho definitely noticed her looking. She gave a long sigh. “Are you going to ask a million questions?”

Rio thought for a second. ‘How much do I really want to know right now?’ “I’m just going to drop it. For now. You’re telling me after practice.”

“Nope. I’m not telling you. We’ll make Iori tell you why you had to see a teammate pointing a gun at her head.” She rolled her eyes. “It was his idea.”

Shiho had fixed her ‘pretty little mouth.’ ‘God, these people are fucking weird.’

===

_ “You're a star-belly sneech, you suck like a leech. You want everyone to act like you. Kiss ass while you bitch so you can get rich. But your boss gets richer off you. Well, you'll work harder with a gun in your back for a bowl of rice a day. Slave for soldiers till you starve then your head is skewered on a stake.” _

Takemi’s office was especially loud today. She was starting to get punchy from not sleeping in her own bed to the tune of even giving Goro some guff. It wasn’t that Goro was doing anything wrong; Tae was trying to limit her destructive behavior so it only affected herself. She didn’t like sleeping in that safehouse and she really wanted her apartment back. ‘I really just want to be able to smoke indoors again.’ She thought again. ‘The fact that I think that shows some dependence. Maybe I should stop smoking.’

She laughed to herself.

‘My body would probably go into shock.’

Her cell phone rang and she actually turned down the music for once, expecting it to be the police with news of Rio’s parents. Instead, she heard an authoritative voice on the other line.

“Is this Dr. Takemi?” Tae confirmed that it was.

“This is Mitsuru Kirijo; I provided the safehouse you’ve been staying in.”

“Oh.” Tae had to gather herself. “Sorry, Kirijo-san, I hadn’t been expecting a call. Is something going on?”   
“I’ve been able to confirm with a police informant that you and Goro are now safe to return to your apartment.” Tae nodded, realizing Kirijo couldn’t see her nod, then gave a curt ‘okay.’ “You’ll still be under our protection for the time being, but Shido is no longer your problem, as I’m sure you’ve heard.”

“Do I want to know what happened to Shido?”

“You’d have plausible deniability if you don’t know.” 

Tae sighed. “Okay. But after all this is over, all of you crazy shadowy people have to sit down, get really high, and explain what the fuck all of this is.”

“I… that would make for an interesting night.” Tae hadn’t imagined Kirijo was capable of laughing, but she let out a small one. “I imagine you’ve met more of us than you know. Shirogane will be in touch. Her and Tatsumi can help you move back.”

“Thank you for all of your help. I don’t know what we would have done without you.” Tae interrupted before Mitsuru could speak again. “I have a small favor to ask. It’s really small-potatoes. I’ve got a girl here who’s parents just beat the shit out of her and dumped her. I can afford a lawyer, I just need a good one.”

“I’ll be in touch.” Kirijo paused. “I have to get back before Teddie destroys my lab. Again.”

===

“It feels amazing to be back at practice,” Sumire said. Her and Kasumi had gotten a ride from Minako, who had to pick her brother up from school. Minako was finally back to normal. Apparently, the best medicine was having a little brother to torture. He said he had a good first day at school; ‘That Amamiya kid wouldn’t leave me alone;’ but he still looked like he was sulking. 

“That’s just how Ren is,” Sumire replied. “Nobody is allowed to be upset except him.”

“Your boyfriend really has a martyr complex, Sumire.” Why did Sumire still blush whenever Kasumi called him her boyfriend? It had been weeks.

“Yes, Mr. Martyr Complex. Want to talk to them about  _ your _ martyr complex?” Minako prodded her brother.

“Ah.” He laughed. “I don’t think I can judge anyone else for that.”

Minato really didn’t seem like a bad guy, Sumire thought. They just had to get him to stop the sulking-brooding act. ‘What was it Futaba called it? A passive nerf?’ She tried to apply Futaba’s gamer language to Minato. His sulking provided a passive nerf to the rest of the room and it was hard to be around for extended periods of time.

‘Well, he has been dead for eight years.’ Sumire didn’t want to just dismiss somebody for being depressed. She’d spent a lot of time depressed before she transferred to Shujin. It wasn’t until she busted her gymnastics slump and finally caught up to Kasumi that she finally felt like herself again. ‘The least I can do is at least be a friendly ear.’

She went back to her workout. They were starting to put together their routines for their next competition and Sumire felt like she was heading for her best finish ever. Just three weeks, and she could finally say she beat her sister.

“Coach, how’s living with your brother been?”

“It’s wonderful! I finally have a little brother to tortu- erm I mean nurture again!” Her voice was overly cheerful but Sumire couldn’t imagine how extra her coach was being with Minato. 

“Don’t you both have Personas?” Kasumi asked. “What if you guys fought with those? That would be sick.”

“Kasumi, they wouldn’t do that. It’s only you that has fantasies of fighting your sibling.”

“You’re just trying to avoid the fact that you couldn’t handle Aurora, Sumire.” Kasumi stuck out her tongue but Minako interrupted before Sumire could retort. 

“We’ve sparred before. I don’t think anyone ‘won.’ We mostly just scared the living shit out of the rest of the team.” She paused. “Except Akihiko. I’m pretty sure that was right before the first time we- oh, not a story for kids. I’ll tell you that part when you’re older.”

“You’re fucking lame, Coach.”

===

_ 2009 _

“We spar in kendo practice, why can’t we spar in the Dark Hour?” Minato was adamant that he get to see what his sister was capable of. It had gotten to the point where the shadows in Tartarus were no longer a challenge for the most part. After the battle with the Sleeping Table, nothing seemed to match up. 

“Yeah, man,” Akihiko spoke up first. “That seems like it’d be a great workout.”

“It’d be a great workout until one of us ends up dead,” Minako interjected. “I don’t feel safe doing this. What if we draw out more shadows?”

“Oh, please, that’s what the rest of us are here for,” Akihiko replied. “We’ll keep any shadows you guys draw out away.”

“You say ‘you guys.’ What makes you think I’d want to fight my brother?” She whined. 

“We fight all the time!” Minato said. “You’re just afraid you’d lose.”

“We  _ argue _ all the time. You’re a foot taller than me! Of course I’d lose in a fight.” She grumbled to herself. “Fine, we can spar, but the second it gets out of hand, somebody needs to separate us.”

The group took their leave, making their way towards Tartarus. 

Yukari sighed. “I’ll be the one to decide when this is over.” She looked at Akihiko. “He can barely keep it in his pants, he’s so excited. So we need someone with a level head.” 

“I call bullshit, you’re in love with my brother. You won’t be impartial.” Minako tried to get Fuuka to be the judge, but she wanted no part of it. Mitsuru had stayed behind, because there was no way she’d be okay with this. 

“Ass. I thought we were best friends?” Yukari retorted.

“Well, I’m making you choose, your best friend or your boyfriend?” Minako said in a joking tone. She was glad Yukari seemed to take it as a joke. 

“You’re both so ridiculous. I choose neither.” Minato didn’t take this as a joke even though it was an obvious one to everyone else.

“I thought we had something special, Yukari,” he said, pouting.

“Dumbass, she was kidding.” Minako sometimes had to operate as his brain. For as booksmart as Minato could be, he was dumb as a box of rocks everywhere else. No wonder Aigis was in love with him. He was the only human alive as dense as she was.

“Oh. Yeah. Right.” His cheeks turned a bit red. 

The fight began, each person limited to one Persona. Minato had chosen Thor and Minako had chosen Cybele. Whether or not the fight was close depended on which spectator was asked. Cybele had taken a few hits from Thor’s hammer but Thor couldn’t get anywhere with his electric attacks but Cybele’s arrow attacks weren’t doing enough damage to kill. 

When the brief sparring ended, each of the Arisato twins were out of breath and exhausted, barely able to stand. Had Yukari not stepped in when she did, they probably would have lost both of them.

“Minako?”

“Yeah, Minato?”

“I’m never doing that again.”

“Me neither.”

“But guys! That was so cool! Especially you, Minako. Wow!” 

“Shut up, Akihiko,” Yukari interrupted his gushing.

===

_ Present Day _

“I’d like to pay bail for Hiroshi Fujinami.” Reiko had made it to the police station where her husband was being held on bail. She was guided through the process and soon, she had her husband back. She went back to the front desk and tried to file a missing person’s report.

“Sorry, ma’am, we’ve already gotten a phone call letting us know that she’s safe.” 

“Excuse you? I’ll tell you when my daughter is safe.”

“Ma’am, please, we ask you not to yell.”

“You people are stealing my daughter from me! You’re stealing her future!” She started banging her hands on her desk when her husband put his arms around her waist.

“Reiko, we’ll figure this out later.” He looked at the woman at the desk. “How can we get our daughter back?”

“Her case has been handed over to social services. You’ll need to provide a safe environment before she’s allowed back into your home.”

“That’s bullshit!”

===

Rio had made it to Dr. Takemi’s office after a great practice. It was great to be back and whatever Shiho did left her feeling great. ‘We should do that before every practice.’ Although, on second thought, that would probably be considered cheating. Either way, Rio was everywhere.

“Hey, how was school?” Goro was at the front desk.

“It went well. I’m glad things feel normal for now.” She shrugged. 

“Me too. Speaking of normal, we’re able to move back to Takemi’s apartment tomorrow after school. There won’t be as much space and we’ll have to share a room.” Rio nodded.

“As long as I’m not at home, I don’t care. Looking forward to it, roomie.”

===

“I don’t know what you’re expecting of me!” 

Makoto never once remembered her parents fighting but she supposed it was possible they had. Her mother had passed when she was young enough that memories were spotty. 

“I am asking you to face the truth, Takeo.” Makoto’s mother spoke with a patience that hadn’t been passed down to either of her daughters. She felt a small pang of jealousy, before thinking that it’s probably a learned skill. “I can’t believe I’m having this conversation with you.”

Makoto’s father didn’t speak. She could hear the sound of him plopping into a kitchen chair.

“You were a police officer for 12 years,” she could hear her mother say. “You learned all sorts of uncomfortable truths. You can’t let this  _ one uncomfortable truth _ be what blinds you.” She stopped. “You know I’m not real, don’t you?” He didn’t say anything. “You have to know, Takeo.”

He grunted something. 

“That doesn’t mean I don’t love you. That doesn’t mean I’m not happy to be here. But that does mean you never truly let go.” Her voice was soft. “I’m not leaving you again, not if I can help it. But you cannot keep running from what happened to you. Life was happier on the other side, I understand. But it never  _ progressed _ .”

“I know, dear.”

“Life here? It’s dynamic. It changes. You have two adult daughters now. You want your little girls back? They want the father that abandoned them back.”

Makoto had never heard her father cry before.

“You need to face yourself. They might forgive you before you do, but you don’t deserve it. You were given a choice between that dream world and the real world, where you had two daughters who loved you. You picked wrong. It’s up to you to make it up to them.”

There was silence for a few moments. Then a door slammed.

Makoto decided to leave her room. 

“Mom…” her mother was startled at being addressed.

“Makoto; I’m sorry if you heard that.” 

Makoto shook her head. “I think I needed to hear that.”

Her mother laughed. “Aren’t we lucky, though, that your father thought of me as the person who kept his head on straight?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Overbearing Mom Minako will probably get old to everyone else really quick but guess what? I love it. What good is an insufferable brooding teenager if he doesn't have a mother figure that's overly bubbly and loves him to death? 
> 
> If you're wondering how I pick names, I literally just go down the list of Japanese pro wrestlers I've heard of. I figured they make nice little easter eggs. I'm just sad that Hifumi exists, because I would really like to name a character Dick Togo.
> 
> ...is her dad ever given a name?


	23. Pay it Foreword

_ Wednesday, May 18, Early Morning _

“Dad, stop it!”

Goro hadn’t gotten much sleep that night. It was his first time sharing a room with Rio. He’d shared rooms before with people who he assumed were much louder sleepers but he supposed he’d grown soft in the few weeks he’d had a bed. There was a time where he had no trouble sleeping through the sounds of the Shinjuku nightlife while huddled behind a dumpster.

Tonight, though, he wasn’t getting any sleep. His new roommate, at no fault of her own, ensured that. She was having nightmares.

“Don’t call them that!” She angrily yelled, still asleep. She was tossing and turning, though. Goro could tell it wasn’t a restful sleep. “I didn’t do anything!”

It was getting difficult to listen to.

“He  _ raped _ people.” That wasn’t as loud.

Goro got out of his bed and moved across the room, sitting on the edge of Rio’s bed.

“Hey, Rio,” he grabbed her shoulder and tried to wake up. She flailed, but not hard enough to hurt him. “Rio, you need to wake up.”

“Huh?”

“You were having a nightmare.” She sat up in her bed. “I think you were thinking about your father.” She nodded. She didn’t remember the nightmare, but she knew the fear she felt. It was normally only brought on by interactions with her father.

“I’m sorry I woke you.” 

“Don’t apologize. It’s bound to happen to me. My father was a dick, too.”

Neither of them slept much that night. Rio was afraid to fall back asleep and relive that day. Goro was concocting a plan.

“Rio, if you can get some sleep, get some sleep.” Goro tried to sound comforting. “Ren and I will take care of this tomorrow. It’ll be over soon.”

===

Against his intentions, Goro did finally fall asleep at some point: Rio dozed within a ten minutes of him returning to his bed and her soft snores lulled him back to sleep. The sleep was peaceful but it wasn’t without it’s mysteries. In another life, Goro felt the warmth of a stage light, television cameras placed in front of him. His hair was shorter. He was wearing a brown jacket and he had a suitcase with a giant “A” emblazoned on it. ‘I look insufferable,’ he thought, realizing he was incapable of speaking. Words were leaving his mouth but they weren’t his own, and he could barely make them out. 

“...Phantom Thieves…” Every other word came out garbled. Most of it came out unintelligible, save for a few words. “...tried in a court of law.” ‘Why am I saying this? We exist because of the law’s ineptitude.’ It was like reading a classified document that had been redacted, but with a voice instead of the written word. The crowd gasped at the dream Goro that the real Goro had no control over. A frizzy-haired teen in glasses was selected from the crowd to respond to a question Goro couldn’t hear.

“They’ve done more than the police.” Goro heard an exasperated noise leave his throat but he woke up immediately afterward. This didn’t feel like a normal dream.

===

If anything was wrong with Goro after his dream, he didn’t show it. He put forth an extreme amount of effort to avoid showing the strain he was under. If he wasn’t exhausted from his limited sleep, he was exhausted from straining his mind in his attempts to explain that dream.

If he hadn’t known any better, he’d have thought he was opposing the Phantom Thieves. Ren had said something about this before, using it as the reason why he still struggled to trust Goro.

‘If that is how I behaved, I completely understand.’ Goro wondered how much worse it got, and he wondered if he should tell Ren about the dream.

Rio had woken up on time and decided on her own it was her turn to make breakfast. She’d picked up how to make scrambled eggs fairly quickly, which meant they would probably become a tradition every morning. It was all her and Goro knew how to cook and Tae rarely had time to cook, herself. She was slow to wake each morning.

She had addressed the previous sleepless night before Goro could ask if she got any more sleep. 

“I’m sorry I woke you last night,” Rio said. “It won’t happen again.”

“It’s fine if it does.” Goro was sure his eyes were baggy, but he could see Rio’s. It looked like she hadn’t slept well in days. “I don’t expect you to be okay with everything that’s happening.” He looked away. “In a way, I think it’s my responsibility to be there for you.”

“How so?”

“When everything went wrong and I lost my mother, I didn’t have anyone. I didn’t know who my father was. I was put in a group home that didn’t want me there and I was far too old to get adopted. Nobody wants a 13-year-old.” He thought about the days when prospective parents came to scout out the children. He never drew a second look. “I desperately wanted someone to be there. I never got it.”

“Goro…”

“I’m never going to let someone go through that again. Tae had no reason to take me in like she did. I realize now that I can be that for someone else.” He took a bite. The room was silent for a minute. He swallowed, and spoke again. “I’m sure there’s a world where I end up dead, or in prison. The least I can do is pay it forward.”

===

Minato’s second day of school had gone much more smoothly than the first. He spent his lunch in Junpei’s office, which are two words that made him laugh whenever he thought about them. He never imagined Junpei Iori being in a position of authority that warranted him having his own office. 

The third day wasn’t as simple. It turns out being a scrawny transfer student with a bad haircut made him a mark for some of the school’s bullies and no matter how proficient he was with a Persona, he wasn’t able to fend off multiple people alone. He didn’t even know their names.

Luckily for him, help came in the form of the large blond man from Monday, who Minato was struggling to remember the name of. Luckily, one of the assailants called him out by name. “Ryuji, what the fuck?”

Minato silently thanked his bully, who was running away after Ryuji got in the way. ‘He  _ does _ have a commanding presence,’ Minato thought. Ryuji in his past experience felt like an all-bark-and-no-bite type but he was quick to stand up when Minato needed his help. Minako had been pushing him to make friends, specifically with these kids who he didn’t know all that well. He’d heard rumors about the Phantom Thieves at school but he didn’t know what they were or what they were about. Given how ostracized Amamiya, Ryuji and the like all seemed from the rest of the school, Minato wondered if they were the Phantom Thieves.

He thanked Ryuji.

“No problem, dude. Nakaoka’s been a real asshole lately. I’m not surprised to see them jumping people now.” 

Minato raised an eyebrow. “He a friend of yours?” 

Ryuji nodded. “He was, back when we still had a track team.”

“You guys had a track team? Any chance of it coming back?” Track was one of the things Minato had missed most about Gekkoukan. ‘I wonder what Kaz is up to?’

“Fat chance. Kamoshida took it down. I’m just lucky I got out when I did.” 

“I keep hearing about Kamoshida, but nobody tells me what happened.” He furrowed a brow. “There’s a bunch of shit about the Phantom Thieves in there, too, but nobody can tell me anything.”

Ryuji eyed him. “You don’t know about the Phantom Thieves?”

“What do you mean? How would I know? I just got here!” Minato’s face showed visible confusion.

“Well, considering your sister is one of them, I fig-” Ryuji got interrupted before he could finish his sentence.

“She’s a what!?” He hushed his tone. “You guys fighting shadows?”

“Eff yeah, dude, it’s a blast.”

“I had no idea that’s what the Phantom Thieves were…” He trailed off. “I’m so mad that Minako didn’t tell me. Who do I need to talk to about joining?”

“Ren.” Ryuji paused. “He’ll be happy to have another guy. He keeps talking about it becoming a ‘taco fest,’ whatever that means.”

“I get the impression you guys are more up Minako’s alley than mine. But I still want to join.”

===

“Ren, I’ve got a request for the Phantom Thieves.” Akechi had approached Ren at lunchtime before either of them had made it to the roof. They were standing in front of the Student Council room waiting for Makoto. 

“Shoot.”

“Rio’s mom and dad. We’ve got their names already, Reiko and Hiroshi Fujinami.” 

Ren nodded. “Alright. After school?”

“I think Makoto is teaching Rio aikido after school. You think we can handle it without her?”

“We aren’t ‘handling it without her.’” Ren said. “We either all go, or nobody does. I don’t care how many of us there are.” He’d had too many frightening run-ins. From now on, he played it safe. He was leaving this hell with everyone alive. 

Goro nodded. “That might be overkill.” But he thought for a few seconds. “I’m sure there are other hearts we could change while we’re there, though.”

“Sure are,” Ren said. “Haven’t any of you seen the website? Futaba created it.” He pulled out his phone and showed Goro the Phansite, initially designed by Mishima in a past life.

“Oh.” Goro thought for a second. “So that’s where our requests come from?” Ren nodded. 

The door opened and out came Makoto, who had been discussing funding for the newspaper club with it’s only member. 

“Hey, wait!” Ren left Goro and Makoto alone while he chased the Newspaper Girl, who sprinted away, Ren following her.

“What’s he doing?” Goro asked. 

“If I had to guess, public relations work,” Makoto replied with a laugh. She checked around her and gave Goro a small, chaste kiss. “Sorry, I haven’t gotten to do that in awhile.” Goro’s cheeks gained some color at the public display of affection.

They held hands on their way to the roof.

===

_ After School _

**RA:** Mementos trip Thursday?

**MA:** I’m down

**MA:** Minato wants to come too

**KY:** Sumire and I are in

**GA:** already talked, I’m in

**SS:** Wouldn’t miss it

**AT:** ugh, does Shiho really have to go?

**SS:** Fuck you

**AT:** you wish

**FS:** Shiho, permission to gawk?

**SS:** denied

**FS:** I’m only going if we change Shiho’s heart

**MN:** I’m in.

**RS:** Let’s bust some heads!

**FS:** Look at Ryuji, bustin out the full sentences

**RS:** jerk.

===

Rio was used to volleyball practice being tough but Makoto was a taskmaster. Maybe Rio was just rusty from being out of aikido for so long, but she had muscles in pain that she didn’t know she had in general. ‘How is Makoto in this good of shape? It can’t be just aikido.’ Rio was practicing volleyball at least four times per week for the last several years; she never took a play off or slacked on her conditioning but she just could not keep up with Makoto. It was the difference between a professional and an amateur. ‘This must be what dad meant when he talked about the pros having a whole other gear.’

They had planned to finish their session with a run but Rio wasn’t sure she would make it. It was the first time since volleyball orientation in middle school that she felt like giving up. She couldn’t give up, though. There was something about Makoto’s expression that pushed her further. It was the combination of fear and admiration she made Rio feel with that kept her from giving in.

The run wasn’t as bad as Rio expected. Makoto must have toned down her normal speed.

“Not bad for your first time,” Makoto said after they’d wrapped up. “We’ll go through some more forms on Saturday, if you have the time.”

“Well, my life has been uprooted and we’re off practice that day, so I think I can work you in,” Rio joked. Makoto’s face turned solemn.

“I’m sorry, Rio.”

“Do I have to put you on the same plan as Shiho?” 

Makoto laughed, remembering the smaller girl admonishing her Senpai for the constant apologies. “No, fine, I’m  _ not _ sorry. Maybe I’ll bring Sae next time, then  _ you _ can be sorry.”

“That your sister?”

“Yes, and she’s way better at this than I am.” Makoto laughed. “Listening to the Yoshizawas bicker make me glad Sae and I are so far apart in age.”

Rio chuckled. “I knew Kasumi was a spitfire but it’s hilarious watching Sumire get worked up. She’s always such a quiet girl, I never expected it.”

“It gets even worse, and maybe someday you’ll see it. I guess her and Ren had a double date with Kasumi the other day that ended in a double count out.” 

Rio guffawed at that. “How many rounds?”

“I didn’t ask, but now I wish I had.”

===

_ After School _

Ren decided he should make sure Hiroshi and Reiko even had shadows in Mementos before he planned a whole trip around them. Him and Sumire sat in the attic of LeBlanc, relaxing. Exams had been hell and their last date had turned out to be pretty stressful, so they intended to half-watch a movie on Ren’s old television and half-do other things, whether it be make out or play on their phones. They’d been sitting on the ground in front of the television, hands intertwined, leaning on each other for comfort and closeness, when Ren thought about checking Mementos.

“We haven’t been in the Metaverse as a team in a while,” he told Sumire. “I haven’t even seen your Persona yet!”

“I think you’ll find her to be fitting of royalty, Prince Charming,” His face turned beet red as hers turned into one of celebration. “I did it! I have to call Kasumi and tell her!”

“What did you do?”

“I made you blush!” She never looked more beautiful than when she smiled like this, Ren thought.   
“Well, if it gets you to smile like that more often, I’ll blush all the time.”

Her face turned a shade of crimson that equaled Ren’s. “You weren’t supposed to counter, Senpai.” She gave a mock pout. “Now. Check Mementos!”

He spoke the names into the app. “Hiroshi and Reiko Fujinami.”

“Palace found.”

“Is that good, Senpai?”

“It’s not great, Sumire. It’s not great.” This just became a whole lot more complicated. 

===

**RA:** Rio’s parents have a palace

**MN:** I’ll ask what they do

**MA:** I know this is a bad time but I am very excited to get my thief on

**SS:** Minato is voted off the island

**FS:** seconded

**RS:** thirded

**GA:** I abstain.

**RA:** Where’s Minato?

**MA:** he refuses to let me get him a new phone

**MA:** smart phones are a fad, apparently

**MA:** he just flipped me off

**KY:** Congrats to my sister on making Ren blush

**SY:** KASUMI

**SY:** that was a private conversation ;_;

**FS:** not as private as you think

**FS:** I got the video for $8 cashtag $alibaba42069

**SS:** sent

**AT:** Shiho’s not bluffing. She really sent Futaba $8.

**MN:** Are you guys ever not together?

**SS:** Queen, where’s Goro?

**MN:** in the other room studying, why?

**SS:** …

**MN:** oh. I’ll shut up now.

===

“Rio, I know this is a sore spot, but what do your mom and dad do for a living?” Makoto had stayed after aikido to hang out with Goro and the three were spending some time together.

“It’s really not that sore, I guess,” Rio replied. “They were both pro athletes, so they work as ‘brand ambassadors’ now. It’s as obnoxious as it sounds.” She sighed. “It kept them out of the house a lot, though. Things slowed down after the Kamoshida stuff, though. It sent things spiralling because he had a lot of sponsors.” Makoto nodded, making note to try “stadium” and “brand” as key words. 

“What did you want to know that for?” Rio tried to sound innocent in her questioning, but she suspected something was up with the way Makoto had asked the question. Makoto was not a good liar. 

“Oh, no reason.”

“ _ Liar. _ ” Rio said. “You’re a worse liar than Shiho, and that’s saying something.”

Makoto stammered. “U-u-umm. The new kid asked about it. Minato, he was asking about you.”

Goro facepalmed.

“Sure, Makoto.”

Rio kind of wished the new kid was asking about her. He was cute.

===

_ Evening _

“Are we really just going to sit around doing nothing?” Rise had the next couple of weeks off work while Yu had earned some time off from his coverage of the train accident. Instead of paying him overtime, they just gave him the next week off to make up the hours on his next paycheck. “We’ve even got most the Investigation Team here! We should be busting a mystery!”

“Rise, we’re not kids,” Yu said, although he did love her childish nature. It was the same nature that made her a star. “Besides, Naoto is working, and she’s basically the brains of the operation.”

“That’s not true, I remember Yosuke solving more of the cases than anyone else.” Yu nearly spat out his drink but then he thought for a minute. 

“You know what? You’re right.” Him and Rise were watching a movie on TV, an American film she understood better than he did. “Why is this movie called Pineapple Express?”

“Didn’t you pay attention at all?” Rise was always frustrated when Yu wouldn’t pay attention to the movie. He was too much of a busy body to actually just sit still. “I’m not answering your questions. You can either pay attention or you can just go to bed, and I’ll enjoy the movie myself.”

“Rise…” he put his arm around her. “Okay. I’ll pay better attention.”

Just then, Souji sprinted through the room, a red blur following behind him. 

“Souji Narukami! I’m going to strangle you to death!” Kasumi shouted as she chased after her boyfriend.    
“Uh oh,” Rise giggled and paused the movie. “Trouble in paradise?”

Yu laughed. “I think they’re playing around?”

“Souji, dear, what did you do?” Rise asked with a sickly sweet voice.

She became worried when the only reply that came was a loud and pain-filled grunt. She gingerly opened the room, hoping not to walk in on anything gross.

What she entered the room to, was Souji on his stomach and Kasumi on his back, his legs wrapped around one of hers, and her right arm snaked around his ankles. Kasumi had him in a textbook sharpshooter.

“You either tap out or you pass out!” She yelled at her boyfriend. “Come on, you pussy!” She wrenched back and Souji gave another cry in pain.

“Ow! Fine, you win! You win!”

She let go and got off of her boyfriend.

“You kids care to explain what happened?”

“Souji thought I couldn’t beat him up,” Kasumi said nonchalantly. “I thought I could. He wanted to let it go. I wanted to make him hurt.”

“She’s not lying, but I wasn’t telling her she couldn’t be me up,” Souji pouted. “I told her she wouldn’t.”

“Don’t act like you didn’t at least kind of enjoy that, Souji,” Kasumi teased back. 

“I plead the fifth.”

“That’s an American cliche, Souji,” Rise interjected.

“You choose now to not be an airhead?”

“Hey, Kasumi, think you could show me  _ exactly _ how you applied that?”

Yu sat in the living room, playing on his phone.

===

“ _ Trickster _ .” Rio jerked awake. ‘Ugh. I had just finally fallen asleep again.’ She threw one of her pillows back over her head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally hit 100,000 words! Here's a shorter update with some fluff leading into a palace.
> 
> Also, go check out Vorphik's The Untouchable Thief, which I've been beta reading. It's very good.


	24. Futaba Puts Shiho's $8 to Good Use

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING:  
> Suicide, rape

_ Thursday, May 19, After School _

“We really need a bus or something,” Minako said while looking around the LeBlanc attic. 

Ren laughed. “We actually had one, it’s just Morgana.”

Futaba squeaked. “Morgana can turn into a bus!?” 

“What even was that noise, Futaba?” Her face turned red. “But yeah, Morgana turns into a bus in the Metaverse.”

“God, I knew that cat was cool.” She thought for a second. “Should I have mom drop him off?”

“I think we’ll run with the group we have before we go about adding yet another person,” Ren replied. “We’re already struggling to keep this a secret as is,” nodding over towards Minato. “He’d figured out who we were just from the rumors.”

“That’s not true, completely. Ryuji told me.”

“Of course Ryuji told you.” Ren sighed. “Ryuji? It was okay to tell Minato. But nobody else.”

Ryuji nodded, and Ren got down to business.

“Alright, we’re all here today because we thought we’d have a Mementos target. Sumire,” he looked over at his girlfriend and smiled, “came up with the idea yesterday to check and make sure our targets were actually in Mementos. It turned out to be a great idea.” He pulled out his phone and spoke the names into the application. 

“Palace found.”

“Rio’s parents?” Shiho was the first to question.

“Yes. So, Shiho, Ann, Makoto, Goro, you guys have a bit of an idea what this means. A palace is a completely different game from Mementos. This means their desires have become distorted beyond those of a normal Mementos target. Kamoshida’s palace is the only palace you guys have been in, minus Minako. She was in Shido’s palace with us when he was murdered.”

The atmosphere in the room became tense, but Ren tried to ignore it. He could talk to Minato about that later.

“Our first step is finding out what Reiko and Hiroshi’s keywords are. Makoto, I believe you said earlier that you had an idea?” Ren held the phone in her direction. 

Makoto stepped closer and spoke “stadium” into the phone. “Distortion confirmed.”

“Good work, Makoto. Now, what else were you able to discover?”

“Her parents now work as ‘brand ambassadors.’ Basically, influencers or advertisers like you’d see on Instagram. They live off their earnings from being professional athletes.”

“Really impressive work, Makoto, thank you.” She gave a smile back and reached down to grab Goro’s hand, squeezing it. 

“Goro deserves some credit, too.”

“Good work, both of you.” Seeing Makoto and Akechi so close would have bothered Ren most times but not much made him happier in this moment. He looked over at Sumire. He wished he could hold her hand right now. “So, from here, we need to figure out the location. Where would a brand ambassador have a stadium at?”

“There’s always those wannabe models at Shibuya Crossing,” Ann spoke up. “That seems like a place influencers would hang out.” Ren agreed.

“Right. Another place I can think of is Dometown. There’s an actual stadium there.”

“There’s also Odaiba,” Sumire spoke up. “They’re building a stadium there. I really want to perform there when it opens.”

“Why? You’ll just lose to me.” Kasumi punched her sister’s shoulder.

“Sumire, that’s a very admirable goal. Kasumi, stop teasing your sister,” Ren admonished.

“It’s not fair, she’s your girlfriend. You  _ have  _ to side with her.” 

“Your  _ own _ boyfriend wouldn’t even side with you right now. I can’t believe he didn’t need crutches at school today.”

“I was proving a point.”

“You nearly broke his leg!”

“No, Rise nearly broke his leg. I merely came close to making him pass out.”

The two stopped bickering when the rest of the room started laughing. 

“I lied when I said you guys were more Minako’s speed,” Minato told Ryuji. “This is great.”

“See, Minato? Life is good when you stop moping.”

“I was dead for eight years, I can mope if I want to.” It was hard to tell if Minato was actually brooding or if he was being sarcastic. He had a natural talent for both.

“Alright, so we have a few ideas. Where to first?” Ren looked to the group.

Minako spoke up first. “I say the Tokyo Dome is our best place to start. I think it’s most likely to turn up a result.

===

MInako had finally proven her worth beyond jinxing the team. 

“Woo! My first palace, and I guessed it right on the first time? I’m the best pha-”

“Minako, even  _ I _ know to be quiet, and I’ve only been part of the group for a day.” Minato sighed at his sister. “It’s hard to believe you’re the older sibling.” Nobody would have ever guessed Minako had been insulted by the way she reacted.

“ _ Aw! _ Are you actually gonna call me big sis?”

“No. Forget I said anything.” Minato went right back to brooding. 

“I have two sets of twins on this team and they are both at each other’s throats  _ constantly _ . Great.”

Minato looked at Ren and then at his sister. “Don’t worry about us. Once it’s business, it’s business.” 

Minakok agreed. “We’re good at compartmentalizing.” She looked at Sumire and Kasumi.

“Hopefully, we can teach them.”

“That was just rude, Coach.” Kasumi stood off to the side playing with a strand of hair that had escaped her ponytail.

“But not wrong, right?”

“Nope. Not wrong in the least.” Kasumi looked at her sister. “Truce for while we’re in the Metaverse?”

They shook hands. “Truce. But I’m still going to get first place in our next meet.”

“Over my dead body, Sumire.”

Ren hit a button on the screen, commencing their navigation into the hearts of Rio Fujinami’s mother and father. 

===

Ren looked around at his group. He had three new members that he had never seen in their Metaverse outfit before, so of course he had to check them out. Minato’s outfit wasn’t outlandish or extravagant. He had a leather jacket with a thick front similar to armor, sewn stripes where the fabric became thicker running horizontally. He had black dress pants and Doc Martens. His mask was a combination of black and blue in a shape more similar to Ren’s than anyone else’s. 

Kasumi and Sumire had similar outfits, but Sumire’s was a black leotard instead of a deep blue one. They both carried rapiers; Kasumi had a bigger gun, a shotgun that looked like it had a large spread. Sumire had a pistol that looked like it belonged to a black widow killer in an old western.

“Code names, newbies. I’ll go over them for everyone else.” He pointed at Ryuji. “You’re Skull.” He continued to do the same, going down the line. “Panther, Phoenix, Queen, Crow, Ares. I’m Joker. We need names for the three of you.”

Sumire had already decided. “I’m Violet. Like my name!”

Kasumi thought about it. “Well, I like Royal. My clothes are blue. Plus, Aurora wore a blue dress. That work for you?”

“Yep, both of those are great. Minato, you have a good one?”

Before he could speak, Minako spoke up. “Death!”

“Fuck yeah, you’re the best big sister ever,” he said with some sarcasm in his voice.

“No making me cry in the palace!”

===

The shadows in the palace were all about the same level as the ones in Kamoshida’s palace, Ren had noticed, which was good. He had too many newbies to train up and letting them fight while himself, Death and Ares stayed back was good to get them some experience. He couldn’t believe just how powerful Death and Ares were together. Their Personas worked in tandem, using moves Ren had never seen that had effects he could only dream of. There was even a move that raised attack and healed the party at the same time, something that made Ren supremely jealous. He hadn’t even seen Death use a Persona besides Orpheus and if Ren knew Personas like he thought he did, Orpheus was the fairly low level Persona Death had started with. He knew Minato was a Wildcard like his sister and he was curious to see what other tricks he had up his sleeve.

The Yoshizawas were both impressive as well, although they weren’t much for working together. Instead, they’d each pick one shadow and take it out, then argue about who killed their shadow first. That plan actually worked well in such a low level palace.

The palace itself was about what he had expected so far. They entered at a ticket gate where they were attacked by a shadow masquerading as a ticket taker, from there heading into an atrium. The puzzles were simplistic in nature, mostly consisting of ‘beat this shadow and grab this item, and then put that item here.’ It reminded Ren of Futaba’s palace, although the shadows here were a bit easier. The stadium itself was packed to the brim with people, but they hadn’t made it to the actual inside of the stadium yet. They were still wandering the area where the concession stands and restrooms were. That part? That was mostly grey with flags for a team Ren had never seen hanging from the ceiling. On the flags were Hiroshi, dressed in nothing but shorts and a tight tank top, and Reiko, dressed in a sports bra and biker shorts that didn’t fit properly.

“Goro, I’ll give you $8 to tell Rio that her mom is hot.” Goro, of course, would never do such a thing, and was appalled she would even ask.

“Futaba, is that the $8 that Shiho gave you?” Ren asked.

“Wouldn’t you like to know? Hey, Shiho, how was that video?”

“Huh? No idea what you’re talking about, gremlin,” Shiho feigned ignorance.

They finally came up on a gate where a shadow pretending to be an usher was telling the cognitions where to go.

“Ticket.” Ren tried to attack the shadow but the mask wouldn’t budge. It only repeated itself. “ _ Ticket _ , buddy. I don’t have all day.”

“We don’t have a ticket.”

“Then stop wasting my time.”

Ren thought for a second, realizing there had to be something he could do in the real world to get past. They hadn’t thought of Ren as a customer, maybe. That’s how Kaneshiro’s palace worked. 

“Alright, guys, good work today. We’re cutting it short.”

“Why?”

“We’ve hit a roadblock. That guy isn’t letting us past him.”

===

Rio hadn’t been left alone since she escaped her parents’ house. She was unsure as to whether or not that was a coincidence; she hadn’t known of any plan to keep her in the presence of others. It was probably a good idea to not let her be alone, though. She was currently laying in her bed, cozy and warm, trying to avoid the intrusive thoughts that had stained her day.

She hadn’t been able to focus in class and she paid for it. Ushimaru was a master marksman when it came to chalk-throwing. Her forehead bore a bruise as proof. 

She was just glad she wasn’t crying. She was usually the type that wouldn’t, but once she started, she wasn’t going to stop. Rio had homework to do. She couldn’t take the time out to be a complete mope. 

“I have nothing to cry about,” she said, trying to psyche herself up. “I’m out of there. I’m safe here.”

Her phone, sitting across the room on a desk that she and Goro shared, buzzed. ‘Must be Takemi. I wonder if she needs something.’ But when Rio reached her phone, there were no notifications from anyone. ‘Weird. I know I heard it buzz.’ They had learned about phantom vibration syndrome in class but that usually only happened when the person had the phone in their pockets. She unlocked her phone to check out what happened.

In the center of her screen was a blue icon with an eyeball in the middle, an application she’d never seen before.

“Huh. That’s a new one.” She thought for a second. Deleting it would make the most sense, considering she didn’t install it but Rio was curious. She instead opened the app, tapping the icon. There was a search bar on a blue background; when she tapped in the search bar to type, it asked for a voice command. 

“Input target name.” The app sounded.

Rio had no idea what that meant. She closed the app. ‘I’ll ask Goro later. He might know what it is.’ She returned to her moping session, which turned into a napping session, which turned into sleeping for 18 hours. 

===

_ Evening _

Goro and Tae returned home at around the same time, surprised to find that Rio was asleep already. 

“Is she okay?” Goro asked Tae, who decided to sit in the room to make sure she was breathing, which she was.

“I think it’s just a depression nap.” Tae’s voice was flat. “I spent half my teen years in them.”

Goro didn’t know how to respond, so he didn’t. 

“This is probably the first time she’s had alone since she left,” he’d said after a few minutes. Tae nodded. “I shouldn’t have left.”

“You can’t just sit here while she mopes, Goro.”

“I know. But I told her I would help.” 

Tae shot him a look. “And you are, but sometimes doting isn’t helping. She’ll be fine. We can talk to her when she wakes up.”

They both left the room, letting Rio sleep.

**GA:** Any plans for the palace yet?

**RA:** I think we need to be fans

**RA:** which is stupid

**MN:** i’d never even heard of these people

**SS:** neither of them were particularly good

**SS:** her dad played on the gold medal team with Kamoshida

**SS:** never left the bench though

**SS:** idk the mom

**AT:** i can ask my agency. If she’s an influencer i can dig up something

**FS:** she was a model and pro athlete.

**RS:** didn’t take Futaba for a sports fan

**FS:** master hacker, dingus. Also, I just searched her name

**FS:** why didn’t you guys do that?

**SS:** we didn’t want to steal your thunder

**KY:** did we ever get that video

**SY:** Coach, can we trade siblings?   
**MA:** it wouldn’t be fair. At least Kasumi can use a phone

**MA:** Minato just flipped me off again

**MA:** Joker, I demand Death be punished

**RA:** figure it out

===

_ Friday, May 20, After School _

Rio, Goro and Makoto were walking towards the school gate discussing this afternoon’s aikido lesson. Rio was in the process of relaying just how exhausted she was after their last lesson, although she didn’t use that as an excuse for sleeping through the afternoon and the night.

“I think I got left alone and everything just hit me,” Rio said. “I couldn’t stop thinking about everything and it-” she stopped speaking when she saw a tall, athletic man and a shorter woman standing at the school gate. She immediately hid behind Makoto, but she’d already been spotted. 

Her parents approached Makoto and Goro, Reiko trying very hard not to show anger in her features but failing. Rio might not have noticed, but Makoto did. Goro was already defensive; he didn’t trust either of them, regardless of their intention.

“We’d like to speak to our daughter,” Reiko said politely. 

“Anything you want to say to her can be said in front of me.” Goro’s reply caused Hiroshi to stand up straighter. Rio knew this to be his stance for intimidation. She normally shrunk under the gaze that followed; her life wouldn’t have changed so drastically had she shrunk last time. She stepped out from behind Makoto but she didn’t move forward.   
“I’d prefer that, if you must speak to me, it be done in the presence of a third party.” She looked at her friends. 

“This is a family matter, Rio. Surely, you cannot expect us to work through our issues in front of strangers.” Her mother spoke firmly. 

“I can’t be alone with you.”

Her father spoke this time. “Rio, I never meant to hurt you.” It didn’t take a truth-seer to know he was lying through his teeth. He barely opened his mouth with his words, as though the words were being pried out of him. 

“Sweetie, we just want you to return home.” Goro winced at the feau saccharine in his voice. It reminded him of the people who ran the group homes he hated so much. They’d use this voice whenever something unforgivable happened to a child; Goro had been able to avoid the darker aspects of being lost in the system but he’d watched the innocence leave his friends after severe beatings. He’d already seen the beginnings of that with Rio.

“Do you want her to return home, or do you just miss having control?” Goro spoke up before Rio could say anything. Rio’s father stepped in front of him. 

“You can’t speak to my wife that way.” Goro wasn’t short but Rio’s father had a few inches and a hundred pounds on him. Goro didn’t back down.

“Good thing I wasn’t just speaking to your wife.” Rio’s father lifted his arm to throw a wildly telegraphed punch, which surely would have knocked Goro’s lights out had Makoto not caught his fist as it darted towards her boyfriend’s face and twisted it behind his back. 

She’d kicked the back of his leg, leaving the much older, much larger man on his knees, at the mercy of an 18-year-old girl. Rio’s mother was about to attempt to pull her off of him but Makoto stopped her.

“I’m not sure a broken arm is enough reparations for assaulting two of my students.” Makoto’s glare scared more than a few passers by. “But I’m willing to let you both walk away without injury if you back away right now and never return.”

“You psycho!” Rio’s mother was loud, and Rio’s first thoughts were to the rumor mill. Poor Makoto. 

“Shut up, you abusive piece of trash.” She tightened her grip.

“Fine.” Rio’s mother sighed. “Fine. We’ll leave.” She looked at her daughter. “This isn’t the last you’ve heard from us.”

“Sadly, I believe you.” Rio let her voice remain cold.

Rio tried to stare them off as they left, but nothing could match the intensity in Makoto’s glare. Neither she nor Goro were the object of it, but they could feel the intensity behind it. 

===

**MN:** hey, one of my friends ran away from home last week. Her parents are probably going to try and get her back soon.

**SN:** what happened?   
**MN:** her dad hit her, Goro and Tae helped her escape. Charges have been filed but he made bail

**MN:** they showed up to school today to try and force her to return home.

**MN:** I stepped in.

**SN:** how did you step in?

**MN:** he tried to punch Goro. I threatened to break his arm

**SN:** so you’re expecting charges?

**MN:** yes.

**SN:** I’ll be on the lookout.

**SN:** u did the right thing

**MN:** thanks sis.

**SN:** dad would be proud.

===

“I can’t believe you nearly got your arm broken by a child!” Reiko tried to belittle her husband but he wasn’t about to let that happen.

“But I didn’t.” They were driving back home after their failure in retrieving their daughter. “I can’t believe we raised such a disrespectful child.”

“We cannot afford this right now.” Reiko grunted at her husband. “If this were to go public, we’d be ruined.” 

“So, we can’t press charges against that girl?” Hiroshi was confused.

“You absolute fucking dolt! No! We can’t!” She sighed. “You already have charges pressed against you and we  _ confronted them _ ! We need to worry about there being video! If our sponsors see, we can kiss our money goodbye.”

“Oh no, you might have to  _ get a job _ ,” he snarked back.

“Fuck off.”

===

_ Saturday, May 21, Morning _

“Niijima-senpai is a superhero…”

“I can’t believe she beat up that guy…”

“I heard he’s in the hospital…”

“I wonder if she keeps her cape and boots at school…”

‘Well,’ Makoto thought. ‘There are worse rumors that could be going on.’

She’d met up with Goro and Rio at the train station, with her and Goro holding hands the whole way. Makoto was very much enjoying her reputation as a badass; she could hold her boyfriend’s hand in public without worrying about what anyone thought.

===

“Niijima, how can I help you?” Tae answered the phone. She was still waiting for Goro and Rio to return from school. They should reach the clinic any time now.

“Makoto and I would like to meet with you and the kids tonight. Have they told you what Makoto did?”

“Yeah, it sounds like she saved their ass.” Sae chuckled.

“She’s a real inspiration.”

“Sure is. Stop by my apartment tonight. I’ll order out.”

“Sounds like a plan. We’ll talk more then.”

===

_ Lunchtime _

Ren was very much enjoying his Saturday at school; people were looking at Makoto the same way they’d been looking at him. The video of her taking down and holding hostage a former professional volleyball player had gone viral overnight. Queen was now a celebrity, whether she wanted to be one or not, and it just tickled the rest of the Phantom Thieves.

Makoto wasn’t enjoying it nearly as much as the rest of the Thieves, although Rio was equally as mortified at the very public embarrassment of her father. She wasn’t worried for him, but for Makoto. She knew her father, and knew retribution was on it’s way in some form. 

He especially wouldn’t handle this kind of humiliation coming at the hands of a woman well. 

“Everyone’s been giving Makoto a wide berth today,” Ann noted as she approached the rooftop with Ren and Shiho. “Was she really that scary?”

“Haven’t you seen the video?” Shiho fanned herself. “It was something else.”

“ _ Do you have something to tell me, Shiho? _ ” How does the old saying go? ‘If looks could kill…’ Ren thought. 

“What? You and Rio talked about Ren’s butt for like an hour the oth-”

“They did what?” Ren looked at Ann, who looked like she’d rather be anywhere else.

“That was a  _ private _ conversation.” 

“So private that anyone who walked by could have heard you, babe.” Shiho chuckled. “Let me have this one.”

Goro and Makoto approached the roof soon thereafter, where Ren and Shiho were taking turns poking fun at Ann’s misplaced jealousy.

“You guys having trouble?” Makoto asked, innocently.

“Yeah, and it’s  _ your _ fault, Miss Superhero.” Ann hadn’t meant for her tone to come off so angry but the anger didn’t meet her eyes. Makoto didn’t take any offense.

“Oh god, how did the video get to you guys?” Makoto thought they’d gotten in trouble from it, somehow.

“Shiho’s struggling to keep it in her pan-”

“Ann!” Shiho’s hands flew over Ann’s mouth. “Ignore her, she knows not of which she speaks.”

Ryuji, trailed by a set of twins, a tall silver haired kid and a kid in desperate need of an updated haircut approached the roof. 

“Some things never change,” Ryuji interjected. “Ann speaking out of her ass again?”

This led to a few minutes of Ryuji and Ann razzing each other before things calmed down. They had a fairly normal lunch, although if anyone had asked Makoto, the faux hero worship was a bit much.

Minato pulled Ren to the side before the bell rang to return to class.

“When are we going back to that palace?” Minato was getting antsy. Their trips to Tartarus happened far more frequently than the Phantom Thieves’ trips to the metaverse.

“When we find a way to get past that block. There’s no point in rushing in if we know we’re going to get stopped.” 

Minato agreed with Ren, but he still wanted to get in and bust some heads. 

“We should all have time tomorrow, if you want to go to Mementos. We haven’t hit the next area yet and we have some targets to go after. That sound good?”

Minato nodded and the two walked back to class.

===

Tae and Sae were sitting at the kitchen table,if it could be called that; Tae’s kitchen consisted of a stove, a fridge and three feet of countertop. The kitchen table was situated much more closely to the living room than the kitchen. 

“We’re lucky the video went viral.” Sae and Tae had been discussing potential fallout from Makoto’s vigilantism. There were plenty of witnesses and now a video that had been viewed by millions worldwide but that didn’t always matter. Rio’s parents potentially had enough influence that no amount of fact would keep charges from making it through the system. “The fact that so many people have seen it will be beneficial. The court of public opinion, at the very least, will be in favor of Makoto.” 

Tae agreed. “And if charges do make it through, they would be fairly minor. No injuries.”

“They won’t stick if I have anything to do with it,” Sae said. “I may have to recuse myself, but that doesn’t mean I won’t have any influence.” She sighed. “Although, that influence has been dwindling lately.”

The three teenagers were in the other room and Sae hadn’t spoken much about her work situation with Makoto; her sister had enough to worry about.

“I’m trying to decide if I’d rather get fired or just put in my notice,” Sae confessed. “If I get fired, I can still collect unemployment while I search for a new job but if I put in my notice, I can probably get a reference for a new job from somebody.”

Tae took on a serious expression. “It’s a shame I finally meet a spook I like, and she’s quitting.”

“Are authority figures really that bad?” Sae gave a sympathetic look. She’d seen the abuse first hand.

“Yep.” Tae’s facial expression didn’t change.

“Care to talk more about it?” Sae asked, in an attempt to, she thought ‘just relate to another person for once.’

“Are you going to leave it alone if I say no?” 

“I’d be a terrible prosecutor if I just left things alone.”

“Maybe you should try being a terrible prosecutor for once.” Tae took on a less serious expression. “Nothing I say here will get me in trouble?”

“I’m off the clock.” Tae nodded at Sae’s acknowledgement, then stood up and grabbed a bottle of something brown out of the cabinet above the fridge and a couple of glasses out of the cabinet next to the fridge.

“I don’t do this without lube.” ‘Are we still doing phrasing?’ Sae thought. Tae laughed and Sae realized her concern must’ve shown on her face. “You’re more innocent than expected. You want some?”

Sae nodded. It’d been awhile since she’d had a drink; she’d been too busy for that sort of thing.

Tae set the glasses on the table and poured a small amount in. She took a sip at first, set the glass down, then brought it back to her lips, downing the whole thing.

“That burns just a little,” Tae said, making a face. Sae was content to just sip. It was sweeter than she expected but Tae was right, it burned on the way down.

“Alright. I won’t stall any longer…” Tae started to provide her explanation.

===

A much younger Tae Takemi consoled her sobbing roommate, one of her childhood best friends. It’d been the dream for both of them to get into the same school even though their programs didn’t line up. Tae had long dreamed of becoming a doctor while her friend, Aiyumi, had wanted to become a police officer. It was a surprise to many that the two were able to remain friends despite a massive difference in world view.

Their differing views were what led them to become such good friends; their sleepovers rarely involved sleep. The two would rather spend their night arguing about the state of everything, particularly the law. 

Takemi’s stance was that the law largely served only those with power and the law itself should be limited in power.

“Honestly, Aiyumi, don’t you think it’s bullshit that it’s  _ illegal _ to be homeless?” Aiyumi rarely had a good reply for Takemi when she got like this. “Like, ‘hey buddy, you know how you’re struggling to find shelter and food? Give us your shit because it’s illegal to not find shelter and food.’ Fuck all that.”

Aiyumi couldn’t disagree, but she’d always get in the habit of pointing out how private property needed protection and the argument always went from there, usually ending when Takemi would defend her asinine idea of abolishing all private property.

They’d usually laugh at that point, Takemi knowing she’d jump the shark and Aiyumi realizing there was at least some merit to what she was saying. 

The two had always been complete opposites. Aiyumi had never seen Tae wear anything that wasn’t black, except for the occasional other dark colors that would be accented by more black. She was the polar opposite, wearing bright colors with a smile on her face. She’d been involved in athletics and student clubs in school, gotten straight A’s and had a roaring social life.

Tae had been arrested a few times for vandalizing the school and a local police kiosk; her last week of high school, she got caught smoking a joint in the bathroom but the school decided they’d be better off letting her graduate so they could wash their hands of her. They were used to Tae Takemi being a pain in the ass.

They were as shocked as anyone when Tae nailed her entrance exams and finished top 5 in her class her final year of high school. It was like she’d found a new motivation; she was still a massive pain to deal with but at least she was doing her homework. That probably saved her, in the school’s eyes.

Her friendship with Aiyumi probably didn’t hurt, either.

It had been a few months into the first semester when Aiyumi got some great news: She’d been selected for an internship with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

It was now a few weeks later. Just days in, Aiyumi’s normal chipper attitude shifted to a darker one, which Tae noticed immediately. When asked, Aiyumi would just reply, “It’s this initiation they have us going through. It really bothers me.”

“What’re they making you do?”

“I’m not allowed to talk about it.”

“Like that’s ever stopped either of us before.”

Aiyumi’s shoulders slumped and she got under her covers, which would have been fine if it weren’t 4 p.m.

“Tae, back off. I’m going to rest for awhile.”

She did back off for the next week or so but her roommates sleeping patterns started affecting her own. Aiyumi was going to talk. Tae had heard too much from her friend’s sleep talking.

“ _ Get off _ !” was a mainstay in her sleeping vernacular. “ _ That hurts! _ ” was another.  _ “I don’t want to do this anymore. I just want to go home.” _

Something stunk and Tae kept pushing. Now she was sitting in their dorm room, consoling her roommate who had regaled the tales of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s ‘initiations’ for female officers. “It’s not all of them, Tae. There are some good people there.”

“Yeah, and those ‘good people’ aren’t doing anything about this.” Aiyumi sighed, then sobbed. “Aiyumi, have you told anyone?”

“They can’t do anything about it.”

Tae’s blood was boiling. “They can’t do anything? Are you fucking serious?”

She got up, slipped her boots on and started to leave. It was the middle of the night.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to do something. I’ll see you later, Aiyumi.” Tae slammed the door. 

Aiyumi made it to work the next day to find her precinct she worked at covered in graffiti.

_ “The Police house rapists.” _ Over and over again in several different styles.

News of the hazing broke later that day. Aiyumi was dead inside the next week. Suicide, by two bullets to the back of the head.

===

Sae didn’t know when she poured herself a second, or third drink, but she was thinking a fourth was in line. “How come I’ve never heard about this?”

“Because good cops sometimes pretend bad cops don’t exist.”

===

_ Sunday, May 22, Early Morning _

Sae awoke expecting a severe hangover and found none. Perhaps seething rage was the best cure. And, perhaps, a conversation with her father was in order. If the timelines matched up, he’d have been working at that exact precinct at the time Aiyumi was suicided.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If the story Takemi shared seems realistic, that's because it is. Not just at police departments; that part was just convenient for the direction I want the story to go. 
> 
> I thought I was going to slow down on updates but then I got ahead on new chapters again. 25 will be out sometime on Tuesday or Wednesday, and 26 sometime fairly soon after that. After that, I've got some space to fill because I wrote things out of order. 
> 
> I don't have much else to say about this chapter. It really bummed me out.


	25. We're All Mad Here

_Sunday, May 22, Afternoon_

The Phantom Thieves approached Mementos prepared for a long haul; Ren was cognizant of the fact that they had been ignoring a lot of requests lately because life had gotten far too complicated to even think about website requests. This meant the Thieves were stuck doing 7 requests at once.

Somehow, none of them were notable. Minato took out the cheating gamer in seconds flat after Ren showed off his downshot, Ryuji took a little too much pleasure in beating the hell out of Nakaoka and the Yoshizawas nearly got into a fight with each other while trying to take out the person who was assaulting people in Shibuya.

“It’s my turn!” Royal wasn’t saying that to signal everyone that she was about to attack, rather she was saying it regards to Violet, who’s turn it actually was to attack.

“Sis! You just had your turn!” Violet had gotten better about standing up for herself, especially when her sister was involved. Luckily, Minako was right there every time to help them refocus their efforts on the actual enemy. An actual fight between the girls was avoided this time, which Ren was thankful for. 

They’d hit all their targets for the day and made it to the wall on the Path of Aiyatsbus. He didn’t expect there to be a shadow waiting for them, but one was.

‘I _really_ should have talked to Minato about this before traveling to Mementos.’

Minato stepped forward first; the shadow was one he’d recognized. The shadow was the one that spoke first.

“Well, I’d like to call this a surprise, but I expected we’d meet sooner or later,” the shadow spoke. It was an exact replica of himself, something that left Minato extremely unsettled. He spoke no words. “Surprised to see me?”

Ren replied after waiting a few seconds to see if Minato would. “I can’t say ‘surprised’ is the right word. What do you want?”

“My friends to not abandon me and leave me in nothingness for eight years, for one.” The shadow tried to sweep his hair out of his face, but it fell right back into place. “I’d also like a haircut.”

Minako looked and thought this was the wrong time to try and convince her brother that his shadow was right. But what a couple of weeks it had been for her; their last encounter with his shadow left her shattered and distraught. Here she was now thinking of quips.

“Nobody abandoned you.” Minako kept her tone serious. “We’ve been trying to find a way to bring you back without bringing on the Fall.”

“I would much rather them not face the Fall and stay dead,” Minato replied with firmness in his voice. “I don’t know why you’re here.”

The shadow scoffed. “I’m here because you’re a liar. I’m here because your friends abandoned you and you know they did.”

Minato wanted to shout back, but he was under the impression the shadow wasn’t done.

“I’m not here to fight you. Not yet, at least.” 

“Then what the eff are you even here for?” Ryuji shouted.

“I’m here as a warning.” The shadow turned around and started to phase through the wall. “I’ll be waiting at the end of Mementos. When you get there,” he looked at Minato. “You’re going to tell me that I was right. Keep an eye on the news, kids.” He disappeared.

“God, that guy never shuts up, does he?” Minato seemed to be playing it off well. Ren expected him to brood over it. 

===

Sae wasn’t sure how to approach her father about the death of Dr. Takemi’s friend. She wasn’t even sure if he’d have known about it. All she knew is the timelines matched up but that doesn’t mean they were on the same shift. Besides, working in the office at the same time as other officers didn’t always mean he was going to be in on whatever they were doing. If something as serious as hazing that involved sexually assaulting interns was occurring, it made sense to keep the more honorable officers out of the loop. Part of her really wanted her dad to have been ignorant of what was going on. If he’d had even an inkling of a clue it was happening, she wasn’t sure she could ever repair that rift between them.

Her parents weren’t home: Mom had been working towards getting Takeo to admit he had made a poor choice. It was as important to her that he face reality as it was their daughters. Her own existence hinged on him being unable to let go of the past. 

Boredom was an emotion alien to Sae and a Sunday off with nothing to do may as well have been a death sentence. Makoto was out with her friends, either hanging out or doing Phantom Thief things. That was a rabbit hole that she finally had time to go down but she didn’t even know when to start. If Wakaba were available, and she most certainly wasn’t, that would make for a fairly decent primer into everything that has been going on and although Sae was off work, she couldn’t help but think Shido’s death was at least partially responsible for the power vacuum swallowing up the SIU. It didn’t look like the director or deputy director would be around much longer, the former worried about his corruption coming to light and threatening to drag his subordinate with him.

‘In a way, I could end up director. If this takes everyone else out, it’s not like they’ll have any other options…’ She thought about that for a few minutes before she realized that’s the exact line of thought Shido was using. It didn’t matter, though. Sae had no intention of sticking around the SIU for any longer than she’d have to. Her next steps probably involved opening her own private practice, but the timing wasn’t right. She hadn’t committed a crime, but opening her own private practice while the department was in turmoil would look shady. ‘Or, it would make me look honorable…’ This was all much too confusing for a day off. 

She needed to blow off some steam, so she spent her afternoon at the gym. She hadn’t had time for that in months.

===

“So, the dude causing the mental shutdowns is my shadow?”

Ren nodded.

“That’s… not the first time something along those lines has happened.” Minato wanted to be mad that nobody told him but he couldn’t think of when a good time would have been to tell him. He’d been in those shoes so many times with his sister, where there were things he needed to tell her but they needed to be at the right time or else she’d blow up or sulk. Minato was self aware enough to know that a revelation like that at the wrong time would have set him off. “On the bright side, he’s me, which means I know his weaknesses.”

“Doesn’t he also know yours?” Minako quipped.

“You weren’t supposed to say that part out loud, big sis.” He retorted knowing calling her big sis would probably placate her need to tease him for a while. 

“You can’t just call me that whenever you want me to shut up,” but Minako gave a small laugh after saying it. “But it is nice to hear, anyway.”

===

Yu had been given firsthand knowledge (from his girlfriend, soon to be fiance) that Masayoshi Shido was the victim of a mental shutdown, not a heart attack. As a journalist, it killed him to see the heart attack widely reported. The mental shutdowns became a joke of a conspiracy theory that got circulated only among the most fringe of markets. It was the one time these conspiracy morons actually got the story correct. Well, partially correct. Yu didn’t know if Shido was a globalist training the Japanese to eat children in preparation for a coming famine that would leave the world without food. That part seemed just a little bit suspect. 

He was sitting at his laptop going over a recording from one such conspiracy theorist. 

“The reason Shido got taken down is because he was no longer useful to the globalists…” the man’s voice was gravelly but not deep, although Yu could imagine if anyone asked the host, he’d swear up and down that he sounded manly. ‘To think I’m sitting here listening to this blowhard.’

This was difficult for Yu, who fought a literal god in the name of the truth. He could rant on and on about how stupid everything was, but it wouldn’t make a difference. He reached his phone and called Naoto.

“Shirogane.” Naoto always answered the phone without a greeting like she was in a hurry. It was better than texting her, Yu thought, because then she only replied in all caps and the messages read like a hostage negotiation.

“Naoto, you got some time? I’ve got some questions about Shido.”

“Meet up at LeBlanc?” Yu sighed. Getting to Yongen-Jaya was a pain in the ass ever since the train accident but that coffee was too good to pass up.

“Yeah, I’ll meet you there.”

===

 **NS:** MEET AT LEBLANC?

 **SN:** why are you typing like that?

 **NS:** CLARITY

 **SN:** okay. I’ll head there now.

===

Ren and Sumire had split from the group after their Mementos trip in order to return to LeBlanc. Ren had told Boss that he’d work for a couple of hours and Sumire was planning to study in a room that didn’t have her sister in it. 

“Are you two just going to spend every waking moment together?” Sojiro shook his head. “To think I’d take in a random stranger’s kid and he shows up acting exactly like I did at that age.”

“How’s Tinder, Boss?” Sumire laughed at her boyfriend’s quip. 

“None of your business,” Sojiro snapped back, then sighed. “It’s good, though. It’s kind of…” he paused. “It feels empty.”

“I get that feeling,” Ren replied. He knew it all too well, actually. Until this most recent time loop, dating had been completely meaningless. 

“What would you know about that, kid?” 

“I know enough.” Ren took a second to think. “Besides, it only feels lonely because you’re in love wi-”

“Speak another word and you’ll be _living_ with Wakaba. You’ll be begging to move back in with your parents after putting up with that.” If Wakaba was anything like Futaba, Ren couldn’t imagine their home being very sanitary. 

Another thought crossed Ren’s mind. Parents? He hadn’t thought about them in a century. In fact, he couldn’t remember a single thing about them. That was quite concerning.

Their conversation was interrupted by some new visitors to the cafe. The pompous man Ren had been trying to avoid walked through the door first and attempted to make stilted conversation with Sumire. He was heartbroken at the death of Masayoshi Shido and very obviously not in good enough shape to leave the house. 

The people that entered the cafe shortly after him? They were also wanting to discuss the death of Shido with each other; Sae, Naoto and Yu all entered the cafe, taking the booth behind the distraught pompous man. Ren was about to walk over and take their order when Sumire left her seat, bounding over to the group.

“Narukami-san! Hi!” For a second, Ren thought she was far too happy to see this stranger when he realized it was Souji’s older brother. ‘That makes more sense.’

“Hey, we didn’t expect to see you guys here,” Yu looked at Ren.

“Well, I live here, so…” Ren chuckled. “What can I get you?”

They placed their orders and started their conversation, careful to keep it vague at Ren’s warning: He’d made sure they knew just how obsessed with Shido the man a booth over was. 

===

“I don’t quite understand why I’m here.” Sae had very little knowledge of Shido’s death outside of what Makoto was allowed to tell her and she was very happy to remain ignorant. 

“We need somebody to tell us what it’s like inside.” This was her first meeting with Narukami and she had to admit, she was at least a little impressed. He had the same aura of competence around him that she’d always gotten from Ren. 

“I hope you understand why I can’t go on record with that.” 

Naoto interrupted Sae. “I don’t think anyone is asking you to. We’re trying to figure out why these conspiracy nuts are getting parts of the story when actual reporters are being blackballed.” ‘The conspiracy nuts just throw shit at the wall and hope it sticks,’ Sae thought. ‘They probably don’t actually know anything.’

“Well, I’d say there’s a power vacuum that’s going to open at the SIU when the director goes down.” Sae thought about just how involved the director had been. “He’s definitely going down. Somebody will talk. Without Shido holding it together, there’s going to be a bigger vacuum at the top.”

Naoto nodded. “I’m already seeing it at the police station. There’s a split between the cops and detectives.” She sighed. “It’s really irritating to go through the process of getting a warrant then find out the cops are refusing to act on it.”

“I think that’s stemming from a lack of belief in authority,” Yu said. “Under the old guy, they thought the system worked. Now that he’s gone, they don’t trust the system they’re part of.”

“...or they’re just fascists who are scared to lose their power.”

“Yeah. That’s the darker side of this I was trying to avoid.” Naoto laughed at Yu.

“You’re the last person who should ever complain about somebody killing the mood.”

“Excuse you! I am a ray of sunshine.” Yu said this in a mocking, sarcastic tone.

Ren stood in LeBlanc’s kitchen, able to pick up bits and pieces of their conversation, while Sumire, who had moved to a barstool, relayed with he couldn’t. It was weird for Ren to see actual adults working towards fixing the systemic problems he’d been fighting all along. 

It gave him hope that things would get better this time without an outsized effort from the Phantom Thieves. 

‘Plus, if we have to fight a god again, it would help to have a team of 20 instead of a team of nine.’ The Thieves were already pushing a ridiculous number of members by themselves, to the point where Ren was thinking they probably needed an official managerial structure, health insurance and retirement benefits to justify the amount of work they were doing. 

‘Realistically, though, who would provide health insurance to a group of vigilantes? Wouldn’t that be a bad investment on their part?’

‘...’

‘I’m more tired than I thought.’

===

_Evening_

Goro was out with his girlfriend doing god knows what so that left Tae alone with Rio at the clinic. She was training Rio to work the desk when Goro couldn’t. She was also extending her pool of guinea pigs to three: Rio fit a criteria that was closer to Miwa-chan’s anyway, so it would make sense to use her as a guinea pig and she was more than willing.

It was weird having a young girl like that looking up to her, Tae thought. She wasn’t used to having mentorship responsibilities.

It was dead at the clinic. Sunday nights were never busy and the only reason Tae stayed open was so she could get Rio some experience doing paperwork and keeping the schedule. She was as natural a secretary as Tae had ever seen, although on second thought, she wasn’t sure that was a compliment. She had an extreme talent for just doing what she was told. ‘Emblematic of someone who was raised in an abusive household, I suppose.’

She sat down Rio in the exam room and handed her a glass full of a liquid similar to what she had most recently given to Ren and Goro. It was brown but not in the same sense as cola; it looked more like rusty water. Rio was about to drink up when the front door chimed and an angry looking man came in; Takemi was quick to interrupt his progress into her clinic.

“Oyamada-san, to what do I owe this visit?” Her tone was accommodating but Rio couldn’t help but notice her take a slightly defensive stance.

“When I’d heard you had opened a new practice, I was concerned a new set of patients had fallen for your snake oil,” the man said. “Now I see you’re doing well enough that you’ve even hired help.” He looked at Rio. “Death is all that follows that woman. I wouldn’t associate with her, if I were you.”

Rio was about to reply when Takemi spoke first. “Oyamada, your issues with me have been resolved and we no longer work together. Can I help you with something?”

“I thought you should know this: Miwa-chan has passed on.” He spoke it with a snarl Rio was used to. It was similar to how her dad spoke when he was intentionally trying to be hurtful. “Your error is what cost her her life.” He turned around, satisfied to get the last word. Takemi slumped. She sat down, a shocked look on her face. 

“She can’t be…” Takemi didn’t cry, to Rio’s surprise. She instead remained stone faced. 

“I shall take my leave, now. Have a nice day, Doctor.” 

The room remained silent. Rio attempted to ask a question and was silenced immediately.

===

Ren was starting to wind down for the night when his phone rang. “Wakaba, I wonder what she could want?”

“Wakaba, you don’t need my permission to ask Sojiro to marry you,” Ren greeted her with that instead of saying hello and he got two loud laughs back; she’d had Ren on speakerphone. Futaba was in the room with her as well.

“See mom? It’s not just me!” Futaba’s voice was piercing through the phone.

“Futaba, I can hear you fine, please don’t yell.” Ren stuck a pinky finger in his ear trying to get the hearing back. 

“Thanks for that, Ren, I was trying to call with some business but now you’ve got Futaba all worked up.” There was a playful tone to her voice and an ‘I’m not worked up!’ to be heard in the background. Futaba must have been looking away from the phone. 

“Business? Sounds important. What’s up?”

“What would you think of taking a trip into Takuto’s palace with me?”

“...we’re bringing all the Thieves if we do this.”

“I didn’t expect anything else,” Wakaba said.

“But we’re in the middle of another palace right now. Can this be put off for a few weeks?” Ren really didn’t want to double dip. It was something he’d tried once that led to a complete failure. He’d had an exhausted team incapable of handling the workload. Now? He could probably send a team of Minako, Goro, Ann and Shiho into one palace and a team of himself, Ryuji, Minato, and the Yoshizawas into another. That would cover all of their bases but Ren didn’t want to start getting cute with palaces now. They still had to get to Madarame.

“This really isn’t something that can wait…” her voice trailed off.

“I told you we were busy!” Futaba again doesn’t seem to understand how loud her voice comes across on a phone. “We need to get Rio’s parents done first.”

Wakaba let out a sigh. “Fine. But we need to get started on Takuto within a week. I can get us some extra help, too. I think we’re going to need it.”

She was right, by the way.

===

_Two weeks later_

“What do you mean I’m ruining lives? Everyone is so much happier in _my_ reality.” Had he sounded evil when he said it, Ren would have murdered him immediately. Instead he sounded aloof, like he didn’t see the problem with what he was doing. That made Ren go further past the idea of providing him a quick, painless death.

Ren really decided that torturing Takuto Maruki to death would be ideal.

===

_The Present Day_

Rio sat in her room, typing away on her laptop. She wasn’t convinced that the Phantom Thieves existed but she’d heard enough of the rumors at school to have at least a small amount of belief. She’d also heard from a classmate of the Phantom Aficionado website. ‘If anyone needs a change of heart, it’s my parents,’ she thought. ‘I’ve really got no reason to not try.’

That’s how she spent her night. She typed and erased a letter to the Phantom Thieves several times before finally getting frustrated and settling on a final copy.

_Phantom Thieves, Hiroshi and Reiko Fujinami are in need of a change of heart. Their daughter is currently in hiding, as she no longer trusts them to be alone with her and they most recently tried to confront her while she was with friends outside of the school gate. I am concerned that they will make an attempt for revenge if they do not have their hearts changed soon._

‘That’ll work.’

‘...’

‘I really hope this works.’

Goro laid in his bed across the room, scrolling through his phone before he went to bed. He was the first to see Rio’s request. 

**GA:** Rio put in a request for her parents

 **FS:** I saw that. Good thing we’re on it

 **FS:** We just need to get past that ticket guy

 **RA:** any ideas?   
**MN:** I wonder if we’re already past him

 **MN:** What if they see me as a competitor? They’re athletes.

 **RS:** They’d let you in for a fight because you made them your bitch?

 **MN:** It makes as much sense as anything else

 **RA:** I’m down to try. Anyone busy after school?

 **MA:** That depends on if the twins would rather practice

 **KY:** Coach. We have a competition in two weeks

 **SY:** We really need practice

 **SY:** What if we practiced before school?

 **KY:** you’re literally satan

 **MA:** I’m down to go before school

 **KY:** is Minato’s shadow recruiting I’m switching sides

 **MA:** Congrats Kasumi he flipped you off

 **KY:** tell him to go suck a dick

 **MA:** he said he’s never tried but he’s willing to learn

 **MA:** what’s your boyfriend up to later

 **MA:** that’s him talking not me

 **SS:** can we please get him a phone

 **MA:** I TRIED

 **FS:** I’ve got an old one

 **MA:** how old

 **MA:** if it’s newer than 2008 he’ll just look at it with hatred

 **FS:** Sojiro probably has an old phone

 **RA:** everyone get some sleep. 

**AT:** I’m trying but Shiho won’t let me

 **RA:** gonna sell that video, too, Futaba?   
**FS:** no shiho is scary

 **RA:** that’s some people’s thing

 **RA:** ryuji

 **RS:** Can anyone explain why Ren is scared of Haru?

 **FS:** guessing time travel bullshit

 **RS:** oh.

 **RA:** tbf she’s never been anything but wonderful to me

===

_Monday, May 23, Early Morning_

“Trickster, it is time…”

Rio found herself in what she guessed was a bar. She couldn’t say for certain because she wasn’t allowed in bars of any sort; restaurants that also had bars in them only ‘served food for the peasantry,’ her inner monologue said, adjusting it’s tone to make fun of her mother. It was warm, though. Welcoming. But there were multiple blond people wearing blue clothes, which was a bit weird. Rio did suppose, however, that she knew more blond people now than she ever had before; that Ryuji kid Goro hung around with had dyed hair and Shiho’s girlfriend probably would have fit in with everyone in this room.

Realizing she was lost in thought, Rio decided she should try and speak. It would be rude not to.

“Time for what?” She asked first, realizing she should introduce herself first. Before the man with the long nose who addressed her could answer her question she bowed. “I realize that was rude. My name is Rio Fujinami. It is nice to meet you.”

Igor laughed politely. “How strange.” He nodded to a woman standing next to him. She was tall and blonde and if Rio could be honest, beautiful. ‘Apparently, Shiho and I share a type.’ “Trickster,” she straightened up at being addressed by that strange name. “This is Elizabeth. She will be your guide in this journey.”

She spoke, her voice smooth. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I look forward to working together.”

“My apologies, Trickster. Our time is running short. I’m sure you have many questions, but the time of your awakening has come much sooner than we anticipated.”

She woke up to her alarm; Goro was already making breakfast.

“Shit, it was my turn today.” She got up, changed her clothes and ambled to the kitchen. That dream was weird, but at least it wasn’t affecting her this morning. She had more energy than ever. 

===

_Monday, May 23, After School_

“Coach, where’s Shiho?” Rio hadn’t seen her senpai since lunchtime; she’d mentioned something had come up after school but Rio didn’t realize that would mean missing practice. It was really not like Shiho to miss practice.

“Ah, I think she had some business with a friend come up.” Iori rubbed the back of his head. “We don’t have much coming in the next month or so anyway. I don’t get why this school doesn’t really have an offseason.”

Rio hadn’t realized the lack of offseason was weird. They didn’t have any games scheduled again until the summer, when the team would be traveling to Tatsumi Port Island to participate in a tournament but that would be their only game until next September.

“I think Kamoshida pushed to be allowed to have year round practices,” one of the other students pointed out. She was a third year that Rio didn’t know all that well. “Before he was here, we had a fairly normal season.”

“I’ll see what I can do about getting you guys some time off. I don’t want to be here every day if I don’t have to be.” Iori caught himself. “Uh, wait, that’s not how I meant that.” A few of the girls laughed. They knew what he meant.

“Year round practices three days per week is too much for anyone, Coach.” The third year spoke up.

The wind was firmly removed from the sails of that practice from that point. Iori ended practice a bit earlier, just in time for Goro to call and let Rio know they were at a hospital near the Tokyo Dome.

===

Souji’s phone rang and rang and rang. He was really trying to catch up on homework that he missed over the weekend after Rise decided they needed some family bonding time on Sunday after Yu spent all weekend working. It was nice to spend time with the three of them; Chie had come along and it was impossible to be bored when Chie came along. Unfortunately, she was the only one home when Souji got the call.

“Souji, we’re heading to the hospital right now.”

It took him a second. “What? Why?”

“One of us is badly hurt.” Kasumi paused. “I have to go, we just got here.”

She gave Souji the address and they got off the phone.

Souji had sprinted into the living room where Chie was laying on the couch upside down. “Chie, we need to get to the hospital in Bunkyo.” He was impressed by how she pulled herself back up without using her hands.

“Alright, why?”

“I’m not sure. Kasumi told me one of their friends is really hurt.” That was enough for Chie. No friend of Yu would be unfamiliar with vague requests.

“Want to drive?”

“You’ll let me?” Souji’s hopes were sky high.

“No.” Souji pouted. “Oh, come on. Yukiko would be laughing for the next hour if she heard that.”

===

Earlier that afternoon…

Makoto was correct in that she was now considered a competitor to Rio’s parents, meaning she would be allowed into the playing field. The Phantom Thieves, though, weren’t allowed. They were allowed to spectate as friends of one of the competitors.

Ren didn’t like this one bit and he was adamant that they return but Makoto put her foot down.

“We cannot just keep going back to the real world until we’re all officially enemies of these two.” She had a point that Ren couldn’t really argue with. He also noted that there was nothing preventing the Thieves from interfering; he expected the playing field to be covered by an electric fence or something, but once they were in the stands, they could just climb over the side, no problem. A few shadows spawned and maybe had this been the first palace, they’d have had a few issues but all it took was a visit from Alice to get the shadows preventing them from interfering to go away.

“Die For Me will never not creep me the fuck out,” Ren told Minako after she took care of the group of Incubi.

"I want you to do just one more thing for me...Would you die for me please...?" Minako repeated back to him in a sickly sweet voice that was somehow creepier than Alice’s.

“Alright, sis, stop traumatizing the noob,” Minato grabbed his sister by the ear and pulled her towards the playing field.

Makoto had been dealing with the two extremely irritating shadows of her boyfriends’ roommate’s parents.

They had been monologuing and Makoto, especially in the Metaverse, wasn’t fond of people wasting her time. Perhaps she should have been more patient and perhaps her run-in with the couple in the real world gave her the idea that she would have the upperhand.

And perhaps she’d have realized that Hiroshi’s shadow repelled physical moves. Perhaps she wouldn’t have started off the fight with a Flash Bomb.

“God damn it, Queen,” Joker muttered. “You pick now to be this stupid?” He had to calm himself. “No. This is my friend.” He said that out loud, trying to steel himself. Futaba had already put a guard in place; it was up to the rest of the Thieves to get there and heal her.

Reiko had turned into a monster emblematic of envy, her small form transforming and growing a shell similar to that of a ladybug. It was that form that had nearly ended Queen; when she lowered the shell it would repel attacks.

Her husband had turned into a form that wasn’t all that different from what he looked like normally, except he had a pair of wings and a giant stinger coming out of where his… thing would be.

Everyone was equally disgusted.

Somehow, it was even more disgusting when it shot arrows coated in poison at the Royal and Violet, who dodged in tandem and nearly cut the stinger clean off. Death followed up immediately with Surt unleashing a Blazing Hell that took Hiroshi out immediately.

Crow made his way over to the fallen Queen and healed her, and while she was now awake, she was still too weak to continue fighting. It would have been too dangerous.

Phoenix and Panther helped Crow remove Queen from the battlefield while Skull, Joker and Ares took their turns beating the living hell out of Reiko, who was either way more resilient than her husband, or Death was way stronger than anyone else realized. It was probably somewhere in the between; Reiko definitely seemed to be the brains of the operation, Ren had noticed.

She wasn’t that resilient, though. Ares through a Megidolaon her way and the fight was over.

Queen was back up and moving by then. Crow was able to get her back to good enough health. She approached Rio’s parents, taking the lead Joker normally would.

“Anything to say for yourselves?” She spoke in a tone that reminded Joker painfully of Sae during her interrogations.

Reiko’s shadow spoke first; Hiroshi’s was too filled with shame to lift his head. “We just wanted the spotlight back.” She lowered her head in a manner similar to her husband’s.

He spoke. “I had finally found something I was good at.” His voice broke.

They shared their frustrations with their careers and the success they’d gained as influencers after; Hiroshi had always felt insecure about his ability. Even though he’d made the national team, he never saw the floor. Once social media became a thing, he realized he was able to profit off that in a way that turned him into a monster and…

If Ren was being honest, he stopped listening. He didn’t care.

This all felt like something that was below him. He wondered if Minato and Minako felt the same way. Makoto grabbed the treasure and they headed back to the entrance.

There was a loud bang, like a singular firework. Then a whiz past Joker’s ear, one he had heard before. He knew that sound.

Minako lay face down in front of him, a bullet hole blown through the back of her head.

“Would you die for me, please?” A shadow laughed as it bounced off into the distance as the castle crumbled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'll let this one marinate rather than provide a mood killing author's note.


	26. Funeral Homes

_ Monday, May 23, Evening _

_ “That motherfucker!” _ Minato yelled; he tried to scurry back into the palace, but Ren held him. 

“We’ll get her to Mementos. We can heal her there.” He tried to keep his tone flat and emotionless but he was proud to say he wasn’t jaded enough to not be affected by someone getting their brains blown out in front of him. If it weren’t for her innards seeping out of both the entry and exit wounds, Ren probably could have seen daylight through the holes.

Minato nodded and picked up his sister. “We aren’t fucking doing this right now, sis.” 

They spawned back into reality in front of the Tokyo Dome on a non-gameday, meaning they were the only people around. Luckily, the bullet lodged in her brain must have disappeared when they got back to the real world; the entry and exit wounds were gone. At least the bullet was cognitive.

“She breathing?” Goro is the one that choked the question out first. Minato nodded.

“I don’t know how though.” He looked at Ren. “Any plans, Leader?”

“Hospital?” Minato gave a noise that sounded like a chuckle, maybe, but it might have been a stifled sob. Ren couldn’t tell.

“As good a plan as any, I guess.”

“I’ll call Tae,” Goro interjected.

===

“Hello, this is Dr. Takemi’s office, how may I help you?” Rio was really proud of her customer service voice. She thought Tae’s office might do a bit better business-wise if she could provide a sunny disposition to some of their patients. She knew she’d always felt better when she was sick when a friendly voice greeted her. She never got that from her mother or her father. ‘Illness is for the weak.’ That’s just the dumbest shit,’ Rio thought. Like people have control when they get sick.

“Rio, it’s Goro. Can you put Tae on?” 

“Just a second.” Goro’s voice didn’t sound right. It sounded like he were either about to cry or already had been crying. Rio reached the back office and tracked down Takemi. “It’s Goro. He doesn’t sound good.”

Tae grabbed the phone. “Goro, what’s wrong?”

“We’re on our way to the hospital in Bunkyo. Our friend got shot.” He paused, swallowed, then spoke again. “Um. They got shot in the Metaverse. She’s still alive. We just…” he swallowed again. “We just don’t have a single fucking clue how to wake her up.”

Tae didn’t have the words to speak. 

“Alright. I’m heading there.” Of course they had to go to Bunkyo, Tae thought. “Rio, close up, we need to get to Bunkyo.”

===

“Can you summon in real life?” Shiho asked Minato once they got Minako admitted into the emergency room.

“I can.” Minato stopped. “I just don’t want to do it in front of people. If we get a private room, I’ll do it there.”

Shiho nodded. “I’ve summoned in real life. Three times now, actually. Only once was without an evoker.”

Minato had to admit he was at least a little bit impressed. He hadn’t been able to do it until he was much further along. 

“It saved our lives on the train.” Minato remembered they were in that massive train accident. He felt like an ass for not asking about it. It was technically his fault.

“I’m sorry, Shi-”

“Don’t even start apologizing for your shadow.” Shiho was already tired of people apologizing to her anyway, but she had no intention of holding him accountable for his shadow’s actions. “That wasn’t your fault and you know it.”

“I don’t know why I didn’t expect him to be a sneaky bastard.” Minako now had her own room, so he had to cut the conversation short. Ren and Minato headed back.

There was no doctor in the room and the door had a lock on it.

“I take it you can heal her?” Ren asked. Minato nodded. Ishtar appeared behind him, casting Samaracarn. 

Minako’s breathing became steadier but she hadn’t woken back up. All they could do now was wait.

===

Sumire was resting her head on her sister’s shoulder. Neither of them were holding it together well. It was weird how important their substitute coach had become to their lives. She only had eight days left in Tokyo before Hiraguchi returned. Sumire loved Coach Hiraguchi, as did Kasumi, but they’d both be lying if they said they wouldn’t rather have Minako stay. Even if their gymnastics suffered (and it hadn’t), they’d both grown to love her as an older sister neither of them knew they wanted.

Ren had come and told them that Minako would be okay, so they were trying to trust Ren. Makoto and Goro were sitting across from them in a similar position, although Makoto was caressing Goro’s hand. Waiting for news was stressing everyone out and everyone handled it differently. Ann and Shiho were sitting at a table playing some card game Sumire hadn’t recognized with Futaba and Ryuji. Kasumi had confirmed by now that Souji and Chie were on their way in the rustmobile and Sumire couldn’t imagine a world where Dr. Takemi and Rio wouldn’t be there soon.

Rio.

This was all her fault, in a way. Had she just taken care of her parents, herself…

‘No. Don’t you dare think that way.’ That was her father speaking, more than anything. He was always a ‘man of personal responsibility.’ 

Nobody gets anywhere without help. Without Kasumi, Coach Hiraguchi, Ren… Sumire didn’t know where she’d be. She might not even be alive without their support.

So, no. Sumire wasn’t going to let her get down on someone else for asking for help. Maybe she needed to lecture her brain to get the impure thoughts back. At least those were natural. 

She really hadn’t gotten Ren alone in awhile. Maybe next time they could… 

‘Well, at least monkey brain will always be prevalent.’

===

“Dr. Takemi, are you okay?” Rio and Tae had been sitting in the car for a few minutes. Rio didn’t know if it was the potential for this involving a serious injury bothering Tae or if there was something greater.

“I’m fine, Rio. I’m okay.” Tae didn’t sound convincing. Rio didn’t follow up. “Okay, I’m not. I’m not fine, at all. I haven’t been back in this building since I was fired.”

Rio winced. “Fired?”

“I don’t know how much you’ve heard, but I’m called The Plague for a reason. Shoichi Oyamada, the guy that came to tell me about Miwa-chan. He’s their Chief of Staff. He’s a pompous piece of garbage. I don’t know if he’s ever actually treated anything.” She huffed.

An app on Rio’s phone beeped, which she’d have noticed, had she not taken the woman she viewed as her mentor’s hand in an attempt to comfort her. 

“He’s just a thief, somebody who steals ideas and doesn’t do any of his own work.” She let out a frustrated grunt. “He’s a blight on this hospital and now he’s trying to pin a death on  _ me _ , all because I made him look bad. That stupid dickhead only got here based on his donations. He’d be better off running a funeral home.”

“Beginning navigation…”

Neither of them heard the noise. Tae continued her evisceration of him. They finally exited the car.

The building they approached was no longer a

hospital. It was a giant Victorian style mansion. It had a huge sign out front. 

“Oyamada’s Funeral Home.” Takemi read the sign out loud. “What the fuck?” The atmosphere surrounding the home was dark and heavy; the trees that normally surrounded the hospital were completely bare, the leaves shriveled and dead on the ground around the building.

“It’s like a scary movie…” Rio couldn’t understand what she was seeing. Where did the hospital go. “Dr. Takemi?”

“Yeah?” Her vocal emotion lived somewhere between excitement and fear.

“Should we check this out?” Rio knew she sounded scared.

“As the adult in the room, I should probably say no…”

“But…”

“Please can we check this out?” Rio hadn’t seen Takemi this excited ever. She sighed.

“Let’s do it.”

===

Takemi was under the impression they shouldn’t be walking through the front door. Everything about this building felt oppressive, like it wasn’t for them to mess around in. However, Tae knew better than anyone that the places that seemed the most foreboding were often the most fun. Her and Aiyumi spent their free hours, occasionally, in an abandoned warehouse near their school that almost certainly wasn’t supposed to be open to a couple of kids. 

This kind of felt like that; Tae cased the front of the building.

“I’m going to say we avoid the front door,” she called out to Rio, hopefully in a voice quiet enough that they wouldn’t get caught. Rio was only a few steps behind her, staring at the building in awe. She’d seen a funeral home before but this felt like overkill. She’d never seen one so needlessly large. It was almost the same size as the hospital that was supposed to be there.

“Yeah, I’m seconding that.” Rio looked at the big shadowy building. It had a wraparound porch and some benches but she wouldn’t dare sit in them. Something about this building had Rio more unsettled than the average funeral home. 

Tae had prodded around the building until she reached further down the line on the south side; she found a hatch leading into a crawl space. The hatch was unlocked and she was able to prop it open.

“Rio, I got us an opening.” She ushered the younger girl into the basement of the funeral home. 

They emerged through a door and into a sanitized looking white room with multiple tables that Tae immediately realized were used for autopsies. She could smell the formaldehyde in the air and nearly gagged. It’s not a pleasant stench. It reminded her of rotten pickles. Rio, upon entering the basement, did gag. 

“Good god! That smell!” Tae nodded but shushed her.

“We’re sneaking around, kid. Gotta keep quiet.” 

Rio nodded.

“Act like you’re hiding from your parents.”

Rio laughed quietly. “I’d be quieter if  _ somebody _ wasn’t making me laugh.”

They’d snuck around the empty basement, picking up some supplies neither of them had much use for. “Goho-M? Sounds worthless.” Rio said out loud after opening a treasure chest she’d found. 

“I’m more concerned why there’s a bunch of treasure chests down here,” Tae said. “This feels like a Zelda dungeon.” She paused. “I really hope this isn’t the Water Temple. I never could beat that one.”

Rio just looked at her weird, then continued on. She had a bad feeling about this. 

They eventually reached a set of creaky wooden stairs that led up to the main floor, they hoped.

“Ready?” Takemi nodded, signifying she was.

Neither of them were ready.

A hulking guard in a nurse's outfit turned around the second they hit the main level.

“Call the Chief! We’ve found The Plague!”

The two were attacked from all sides by these strange shadow nurses.

===

Dr. Takemi came to first. She tried to move her arms and legs but they were strapped to a table. She could hear breathing next to her, shifting her head to the side so she could see the other heartbeat in the room. Rio was strapped to a table in a similar manner. They were in the creepy, overly-sanitary white basement. 

“Fucking let me go, dude.” She’d abandoned the notion of being quiet. “I’m not into this sort of thing.”

A voice she recognized spoke up. She couldn’t see him, but she’d know Oyamada’s voice anywhere. “Leave it to the Plague to make everything sex related.” She still couldn’t see his face. “I’m curious as to why you two were sneaking around my wonderful house of death.”

There was no need to insult Oyamada right now, Tae thought. If they could just get out of here unscathed, they could live to never speak of this again.

“We were trying to visit a friend in the hospital.”

“And you do realize that you are never allowed in that hospital again, correct?”

This made Tae angry. There was nothing official saying that, although it was indeed insinuated.

“My friend got shot, you asshole.”

“Oh. Well, I suppose a friend of yours that gets shot is in the right place.” She could hear his grin in his voice. “Is she another victim of the Plague?”

“Fuck you, man.”

“Orderlies, I’d like to be rid of this nuisance. Do with her what you will.” She could hear the man’s footsteps grow distant as the splashes of an approaching shadow became more prevalent. 

**My, my.**

Through the heartbeat in her ears, Tae heard a voice that cut through her thoughts. It didn’t sound anything like her normal internal monologue.

**We have found ourselves in quite the predicament. If only there was something we could do to prevent our own demise.**

“I’m trying…” Tae strained out. She was having trouble speaking.

**It’s not our demise that we’re trying to prevent now, is it? This is how it’s always been. Your sense of self preservation has always been lacking. You’ve always been at your best when you’ve had something to fight for.**

Tae’s mind immediately went to Miwa-chan. She hadn’t been at her best and it cost that girl her life.

**Are you prepared to walk a new path? It is one similar to that in which you have previously walked. It is a purpose that belongs to another that you have made your own.**

“I am…” the shadow attempting to perform an autopsy on a living person backed off and the straps tying her to the table were erased in a blue flame. 

**Then arise! I am thou!** **Thou art I!**

Tae repeated the mantra. 

“ _ Rosario! _ ” She called to her newly-acquired Persona. A fairly small, androgenous human appeared behind her, it’s outfit straight out of the 18th century, puffy pants and a collared black shirt with ruffles down the front. The Persona wore a squire’s cap with a feather. Tae reached into her belt to find a futuristic looking blaster, black with a lit-up lightning blue lining. In a similar holster next to it was a ‘motherfucking lightsaber,’ put into Tae’s own words. She pulled out the lightsaber and stuck the two shadows in the room with the pointy end, causing them to disintegrate. A guard could be heard elsewhere, calling for backup. Tae cut Rio loose and grabbed her, carrying her back to the stairs that led up to the hatch where they entered. She was barely strong enough to carry the young girl, but she did get her up the stairs without so much as a stumble. They were able to make it back to the entrance before Tae collapsed.

They hadn’t made it back to the real world.

===

Tae and Rio never showed up which caused Goro great concern. Tae was always reliable in a pinch and Rio would follow whatever Tae did, or at least that was the impression he’d been given. 

Text messages to the two weren’t going through so Goro did what any concerned parent would do.

“Futaba, do you have tabs on Dr. Takemi and Rio?” 

“What? No, I would never. I would never do that. I barely know them. I’m not tracking their location. That would be completely asinine. Nobody would do that. I’ve only talked to them like twice in my life. That would be creepy…”

“Futaba…”

“Am I in trouble?” She started fidgeting with her hands in an attempt to distract herself.

“No. But I think they might be.”

Futaba checked her bug. They were nowhere to be found.

“That’s concerning.” Goro decided to walk back to the hospital’s lobby. Maybe they couldn’t get back to the waiting room, for some reason. 

They were nowhere to be found.

===

Tae was too weak to fight off the approaching shadows and neither her nor Rio had any clue how to return to the real world. Rio was finally starting to stir.

“What happ-” but she was interrupted by another approaching shadow.

“We must eliminate the intruders!” One of them shouted, earning a cry from the others. Tae’s normal outfit, the deep green dress, heels and a choker, transformed into what Rio would describe as a prop outfit from a cyberpunk movie. Her top was black with blue lines down the sides with long sleeves and skin tight and her bottom was replaced with a plaid skirt that looked oddly familiar to Rio. She was also wearing fishnets and the whole outfit was a bit tacky in the best way possible. Tae’s heels had turned into a pair of boots, still fairly high-heeled but featuring a darker leather. They looked more like motorcycle boots.

She looked really fucking cool, Rio thought. Now if only the fighting was ‘really fucking cool.’ It was obvious that Tae was running low on fumes; her gun (where did she get that gun?) was out of ammo and Tae’s movements were sluggish. Rio didn’t imagine her being a particularly skilled sword fighter in the first place but she was holding her own, at least. 

“Rosario!” Takemi called and a… ‘that looks like that thing Shiho had!’ Rio’s brain short circuited and she missed what Tae had called, but it took out the shadow immediately. Sadly, three more were approaching.

“ _ Trickster, your time is fast approaching.” _

“What?”

_ “Your game is now beginning.” _ Rio recognized this voice.

“Elizabeth?”

_ “It is up to you to choose a new path, and conquer death.” _

A new voice spoke up as Elizabeth’s faded.  **“Trickster, let I, the Master of Strings, aid you in your journey.”** The second she heard the voice, it felt as though it were part of her.  **“Together, we shall bring salvation to this land!”**

“I’ll accept your help.” It didn’t come off as sounding as cool as she’d wanted. 

“ **I am thou. Thou art I.** ” Her and Orpheus spoke the phrases in unison. 

“Orpheus!” 

She didn’t remember much of the fight after that. The last thing her and Tae remember is being sitting on a bench in front of the hospital, being shaken awake by Goro.

“Where were you?”

Tae was groggy, but she was pretty sure she now understood how the Phantom Thieves changed hearts.

That’s pretty cool.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minako got shot in the Metaverse. At most it did HP damage. For some reason, I thought that would be obvious and then I went back and reread it and wow, I didn't make that obvious at all.
> 
> Tae's Persona is based on a character from The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis, which I'd honestly never heard of until I was searching for something halfway original to use, then I found out that Batman: Gothic used The Monk as inspiration. So now I'm busy reading Batman comics instead of writing or working and good lord letting me work from home was a mistake. 
> 
> Minako is my favorite character to write, so you can bet your ass she's not going away. (Or is she?) (She's not.)
> 
> Chapter releases may be slowing down after this. I've officially made it through my glut of pre-written chapters and we're back on full hours for the first time since the pandemic started.


	27. The Teenager Tax

_ Monday, May 23, Late Night _

The doctor had given Minato the good news he expected. Minako was in a state of exhaustion but her brain activity was normal and none of her organs seemed damaged. She was breathing and she would occasionally talk in her sleep. They had told the doctor that she had suffered a severe concussion, which he said he couldn’t find any evidence of other than the fact that she was still out cold.

“I would refer to this more as severe emotional trauma than anything physical. Is she normally prone to depression?” Minato shook his head.

“She’s the most upbeat person I’ve ever met.”

“That’s good. Whatever happened, she’s going to need a good attitude to get through this.” The doctor paused. “She was talking in her sleep when she was being examined. She kept saying something about getting shot. I don’t believe that actually happened, but I think she does. Phantom pains are still pains. You’ll need to keep an eye on her.”

Minato nodded and returned to the group with the news.

When the Thieves received the news, it was like watching a deflated balloon inflate. The Yoshizawas provided the most visible excitement but luckily for Minato, nobody cried. He wouldn’t admit this to anyone else, but if somebody else started crying, he’d probably follow suit. It wasn’t normally his style, of course, but his sister had nearly died.

“I think…” he told Ren. “I think I get how she felt now. How she felt after I died, I mean.”

He hadn’t expected Ren to give him a hug. He tensed up at first, but it was nice. Ren spoke after they broke the hug. 

“Nobody deserves the shit you two have gone through,” Ren said. “I need to be more careful.”

“What do you mean?”

“My job, as a leader, is to keep you guys safe. I haven’t been doing that. We already almost lost Makoto, and then my dumb ass didn’t watch our back when we were leaving. I should have seen this coming.”

Minato didn’t understand. “Ren, there’s no way anybody could have expected that.”

“I  _ should _ have, though.” Ren said. “I’m supposed to know this shit ahead of time.”

“But you didn’t, and you couldn’t have known.” Minato found this attitude frustrating. “Let’s just be grateful that Minako’s alive. We can come back to this later.”

The waiting room was interrupted when Goro entered with two stragglers: An exhausted duo of Rio and Tae.

“I think they’ve got some things to talk to us about.” If Ren didn’t know any better, he’d guess he was dealing with the old Akechi.

“Did something happen?”

Goro nodded but didn’t say anything.

“We’ll meet at LeBlanc tomorrow night. It’s getting late.” Ren turned to Minato. “We’ll stay here. Everyone else, go home and get some sleep. We’ve still got school tomorrow.”

===

_ Tuesday, May 24, Morning _

Minako was fine in the morning.

No, really. Minato couldn’t, and wouldn’t believe it.

“Minako, I’m staying home from school to take care of you.” 

“Nonsense, Yukari’s home today. You can’t just go missing school on account of actually having feelings.” He couldn’t tell if his sister was trying to deflect to avoid her own problems or if she was being needlessly obnoxious. “You never missed school during the Dark Hour.”

“I missed two fucking weeks after I awoke the first time!”

“Well, I did, too. And then we didn’t miss again.” She was trying to fix her hair. It had gotten putten back in a ponytail when she was in the hospital but whoever did it had it positioned weirdly. She couldn’t get it back to normal. “Besides, no harm, no foul, right? I’m alive.”

She was trying to sound brave but Minato saw right through it. “Minako, this is bullshit.” He was about to leave her alone so he could sulk but he decided to stick with it. “I know you’re still coming to grips with the fact you almost died. But please, for me, don’t just pretend you aren’t bothered. I get it, Minako.”

She didn’t reply.

“I know how you felt, now. I was gone for so long. I can’t imagine life without you here.” He was trying not to show his frustration. “I don’t know what you went through, but I know it must have been hell.”

She’d stopped her fiddling and looked her brother in the eye. “It was. But you’re here now, and I’m still here.” She hugged her brother.

“I love you, sis.”

“You better.”

===

_ After School _

The Phantom Thieves, plus Rio and Takemi, piled into LeBlanc’s attic.

“You know, this is really starting to look like we’re a shadow organization trying to overthrow the government,” Shiho pointed out. “Isn’t piling into a bar’s back room how the American Revolution was planned?”

“And the Nazi takeover of Germany,” Makoto pointed out. “And the Bolshevik Revolution… maybe we shouldn’t compare ourselves to them.”

“Whatever you say, comrade,” Futaba replied in fluent Russian.

“Futaba?” 

“Yes, Ren?”

“Why do you know Russian?”

“I play a lot of CS:GO.”

Ann interrupted. “When do you even sleep?”

“Sleep is for the weak.”

Ren wanted to point out that the Futaba he knew in previous timelines would sleep for weeks at a time, but he decided it wasn’t necessary. It might bring the mood down and things were finally starting to feel normal. Minako was out of the hospital, although she wasn’t back to her old self. She instead sat next to the Yoshizawas, who weren’t letting her out of their sight. 

They were her terrifying little guard chihuahuas. 

They got to the task at hand; Tae did most of the speaking.

“So, I think Rio and I discovered how the Phantom Thieves change hearts.” Ren’s heart skipped a beat. “I know you never told me the whole story and frankly, I didn’t want to know the whole story. But I think you should at least tell Rio the truth.”

“Well, considering she’s literally in the room with us, it’s not like we can say no,” Ren replied curtly. ‘Seriously! Who doesn’t know about us at this point?’

“That was the point.” Ren wasn’t used to getting such a hard glare from Takemi. “We fought in a funeral home where the hospital was supposed to be yesterday.”

“A palace?” 

“Yeah, that’s what that app called it.” 

Rio perked up. “You know about it?” Ren nodded. “But how? I don’t even know how we got there.”

“Well, that’s the thing, Rio. We’re the Phantom Thieves.”

She thought about it for a minute. Then she thought a little longer, as when she spoke, her voice didn’t come out. 

“Oh.” That was all she had. “Fuck. Duh.” She chuckled. “That does explain why you have at least two people with obvious superpowers.”

“What?” Ren didn’t know what she was talking about.

Shiho spoke up. “Um, she’s probably talking about me. I fixed her broken nose. And stopped us all from dying on that train. I’m surprised she didn’t figure it out sooner.”

Rio nodded. “The idea of actual superheroes is way more believable than whatever that other world is.” 

Rio and Takemi relayed everything that happened in Oyamada’s palace and the threats he made on Minako’s life. Minako winced. She didn’t want to think about dying again. Sumire and Kasumi had her wrapped in a group hug any time they sensed she was uncomfortable.

“You both have Personas?” Minato asked before Ren could. He felt bad for potentially stepping on Ren’s toes, but if Ren had a problem with it, he didn’t show it.

Tae looked at Rio, who shot back a confused look. “Neither of us know what that is.”

Ren looked at the veterans in the room. 

“I was told it was my Will of Rebellion that granted me another face.” Minako and Minato both agreed.

“It wasn’t put quite that way for us, but yeah, basically the same thing,” Minato said.

Takemi nodded. “Alright then. Yes. Mine is named Rosario.”

“Mine is Orpheus.”

Minako shot her a curious look. “You’re another Fool?”

“I don’t know what that means, but the voices keep calling me Trickster.”

She noticed odd looks from three people: Ren, Minako and Minato. “Why are you all looking at me that way?”

“Ah, it’s just that life is probably going to be really horrible for you for like, the next year.” Minato spoke first. 

“Well, given the state of the last few weeks, it sounds like that’s already started.”

“Hey, Minako.” Minato addressed his sister. “You’re just a little concerned she has Orpheus, too, right?”

“Yeah. Hey, Ren, have you ever been able to get Orpheus as a Persona?”

“Nope. Not that I recall.”

“Yeah, now I’m concerned.”

The room was silent for a moment before Ren spoke up again. “We’re really failing our diversity initiative. Soon enough this is gonna be the Female Liberation Club.” Ryuji and Goro laughed. “Futaba, we need another man. What’s Morgana up to?”

“You kid, but he’d be so excited to know you want him.”

“We’re reaching the size of a small militant uprising. What’s the addition of a cat?”

Makoto was bothered by something. “Rio? Who was the  _ other _ superpowered person you mentioned?”

“Oh, I did say two people, didn’t I?” She whistled nonchalantly while walking down the stairs.

===

_ Evening _

“Dr. Takemi,” The doctor jumped at being addressed. She was exhausted from her awakening yesterday and of course she couldn’t sleep when she got home. She wondered if Rio struggled to sleep, as well. She wouldn’t blame her. “Are we going back?”

Takemi shook her head. “I don’t know when I’d have time. I’ve already had to close my clinic for a couple weeks to take cover.” Tae wanted nothing more than to drop everything. She had another self that was literally her will of rebellion given a physical form. If she were 8 years younger, she’d be out raising hell. ‘When did I get so lame?’

“But you have every reason to go after Oyamada,” Rio argued. “We know what the Phantom Thieves are doing now. They’d even help us if we asked.”

Tae sighed. “Why don’t we just tell them and let them handle it?”

“Because you should handle it yourself. You have the means to.” Rio wasn’t going to budge. When did she get this stubborn? “And I know you want to.”

“You don’t know what I want.”

“Was all that stuff about rebellion bullshit then?” Rio scoffed. “Because I bought in. It’s admirable. We  _ know _ things aren’t right here. If I have the chance to rebel  _ and _ fix it, I’m going to.”

“I’m supposed to be an adult.” Tae sounded defeated. “I’ve got you kids to look after.”

“So? What’s that got to do with anything? Minako’s an adult.” Rio stood firm. “She’s got kids to look after. You think she’s not terrified for Minato or Kasumi and Sumire?”

“And she nearly died!” 

“At least she nearly died fighting for something. She had the ability to fight, so she did. I guarantee you, she has no regrets.” She also doesn’t have a boyfriend or a career or… well, Rio respected Minako anyway. “This feels right to me. And it feels like you’re supposed to do it with me.”

“If you want to fight so bad, go fucking fight, kid.” Tae raised her voice.

“It’s cool to see that there’s nothing left beyond the leather and the piercings.” Ouch. Rio returned to her room and slammed the door. Goro was staying with Makoto tonight, so she’d have the room to herself. 

There was loud music from Takemi’s side of the house that night. It was the loud and obnoxious kind that nobody else could stand; it couldn’t even be considered punk. It was probably recorded on an iPhone; the quality certainly wasn’t high enough that the band had a studio to record in.

_ And I know that Rome wasn't burnt in a day / But it couldn't have been more than a week / And I know that the children of barbarians / Become the new tax collectors and priests / So I don't know. _

This was a bad album to pick for the night. It always led to bad decisions.

**Tae added Ren and Rio to a group chat**

**TT:** We’re going back on Thursday

**RA:** We?

**TT:** Assumed you’d kill us if we went alone

**RA:** You know me so well.

**RA:** We’re all free. Not sure Minato and Minako are up to going back.

**TT:** can’t blame them

**Rio has left the group.**

**RA:** You guys okay?

**TT:** She’s not talking to me.

Takemi went back to laying on her bed. She wasn’t going to sleep tonight. 

===

‘I should have never said that to her.’

‘Why did I say that?’

“Why do I keep doing this?’

Rio sobbed. ‘Why do I keep acting like my parents?’

Her mom and dad had called earlier while they were meeting with the Phantom Thieves. Rio didn’t answer the phone. It was just another way in which she was acting like her mom. That conversation would be uncomfortable and she wanted no part of it. Just like her mom. 

‘I need to apologize.’ She tried to keep her crying silent. ‘I also probably need therapy.’

Once she stopped the tears, she would go apologize, even if it was the middle of the night. Tae probably wasn’t sleeping anyway.

===

There was a small knock at Tae’s door, to her surprise. She hadn’t expected Rio to leave her room tonight.

“Come in.” Tae spoke but didn’t sit up. She’d been lying there staring at the ceiling for hours. Rio entered the room and took a seat at the edge of the bed.

She didn’t speak for a moment. She was struggling to find the words.

“I’m sorry.” 

Tae hadn’t expected an apology. “For?”

“I didn’t get what I wanted, so I threw a fit.” It was dark, but Tae could see her look down and she made a noise like she was trying not to cry. Tae suspected she’d already been crying. “I acted exactly like my mom.” Following the words was a choking noise and a few sniffles. Tae sat up and scooted to the front of the bed and sat next to Rio. 

“You were harsh. But you weren’t wrong.” Tae sighed and Rio looked up at her. Even sitting, Tae was quite a bit taller. “I didn’t relent because you threw a tantrum. I relented because you called me on some bullshit.”

Rio didn’t say anything in reply.

“I talk all this game about doing what’s right even if it feels wrong, and I have all this counterculture shit that nearly costs me my career on a regular basis. Then the second I get the opportunity to live my whole image, I decide that  _ now _ is the time to be an adult.” She laughed at herself. “I’ve never once tried to be the adult in the room. I don’t know what made me start now.”

Rio rested her head on Tae’s shoulder. “I’m still sorry I snapped.”

“Stop it. We all have our moments.”

“But you go through all this. You take me in and I must seem so ungrateful.” 

“Ungrateful? That’s just the teenager tax, Rio. You’re all ungrateful shitheads.” She put her arm around Rio. “It’s part of the charm.”

“Thank you.” Rio had backed off of the point of crying. She waited a few seconds and spoke again. “My parents tried to call today.”

“You didn’t answer it?”

“No. I thought the conversation would be too uncomfortable, so I let it go to voicemail. I still haven’t listened to it.” Rio had left her phone in the other room. 

“Do you want to listen to it?” Rio shook her head. 

“I don’t. Do you want to?”

“If you want me to listen to it, I can tell you what they said in a less severe tone.” She tried to give a smile but she was extremely tired. “I’ll even do it in a Mickey Mouse voice, if that makes it easier.”

“There’s no way you have a Mickey Mouse voice.”

“Teenagers…” Tae muttered sarcastically. “You know not the sacrilege in which you speak.”

Rio left the room then returned with her phone a few minutes later. Tae took it and listened to the message.

“Rio, please call me back. I understand we made you feel unsafe. Your father won’t be around for a few days. He’s turned himself into the police. Bring your friend if you want to.” Tae repeated every word.

“She sounded sad.” 

Rio remembered something. 

“So, I kind of put in a request to the Phantom Thieves’ website on my parents.”

“What?” Tae couldn’t believe it. “But why didn’t they tell you what they did?”

“I didn’t know until today, and they might not have known it was me that put in the request.”

“What does this mean?” Tae didn’t want to think about the fact that she’d gotten so attached to Rio in such a short amount of time.

“It means my dad is probably going to jail for a bit.” Rio paused. “And they’re going to apologize to me. And try and get me to move back in.”

Tae sighed. “Do you want to move back in?”

Rio gave a thoughtful look. “That depends. Do you want me to?”

“Nope. This is your decision, though. Make it yourself.”

“I’d like to stay.” 

Takemi nodded and kept a cool face, deciding to ignore the fact that she just completely melted.

===

_ Wednesday, May 25, Morning _

Ren approached Rio that morning before classes started; she’d approached the gate with Goro and Makoto, neither of whom thought to ask her about her parents. The collective thought among the Phantom Thieves was that she’d been through enough the last few weeks that asking her about her parents outright would be crass but now that the operation was over and she was potentially being brought into the fold, it was probably a good idea to tell her. 

Ren greeted the three then cut to the chases. The first bell signifying they should be getting to their classrooms would ring soon.

“Hey, Rio, have you heard from your parents yet?”

She nodded. “My mom called yesterday. Dad turned himself in. Mom wants to meet in person.”

‘That’s a quick turnaround,’ Ren thought. 

“I think Tae and I are going to meet her after school at a neutral location. I was thinking LeBlanc, if you guys are okay with a potential domestic dispute taking over the cafe.” Ren laughed at that.

“It’ll bring some color to the old man’s day.” Ren didn’t expect it to actually end in a domestic dispute, although depending on how obtuse Rio’s mother was going to be after her change of heart, he could see Tae strangling her.

Ren was correct in assuming their conversation featured a more unspoken element regarding the Phantom Thieves.

===

Ryuji had made it to school early for the first time in his entire life; his mother was so impressed that he was awake before she was. She was even more impressed that he’d made breakfast. It was rare that either of them got to eat before leaving the house in the morning; Ryuji wasn’t the only Sakamoto who struggled with waking and showing up on time. 

But Ryuji had made a promise to Haru that he could be there early to help her tend to her plants on the rooftop. She was at the school gate when he arrived, tending to the flowers that made up the small amount of landscaping around the crowded entrance. 

“Hey, Haru,” Ryuji greeted the auburn-haired girl. She was wearing her gym uniform instead of her school uniform as she usually did while gardening; she didn’t want to get dirt on her cardigan.

“Good morning, Ryuji-kun!” She had a big smile on her face. “I’m glad you could make it.” She put him to work immediately, having him carry some plants from the gate to the school rooftop. They then spent some time replanting some new seeds she’d been wanting to try and tending to the vegetables that had already been planted. She was most proud of the squash and she told him so, although it was too early to tell if they’d be good or not.

“This is the furthest I’ve gotten with them,” she told Ryuji with pride. “Last year, they didn’t come in at all.” She showed Ryuji the bud of where a green plant was starting to emerge from a vine. “Look! It’ll be ready in just a few days!”

Ryuji wasn’t a morning person in the least, but the energy Haru brought to her gardening was infectious. They were able to get through tending the plants in record time. School wouldn’t even be starting for another 10 minutes but by that time they finished. The two sat next to each other on the old desk tops that littered the other side of the room. They hadn’t had much time to text lately and their interactions at school had been limited by Ryuji’s work with the Phantom Thieves. He didn’t know this, but the reason Haru asked him for help was because she really just wanted to see him. 

“How’ve you been, Ryuji-kun? We haven’t spoken much lately.” Haru spoke that last part with a bit of sadness in her voice. Before Ryuji could speak, she spoke again. “That’s partially my fault. I’ve been monitored more strictly by my fiance ever since that video of Niijima got out.”

“Is he scared of Makoto?”

“He thinks this school needs to get a handle on it’s students. ‘There’s no excuse for students assaulting innocent adults.’” Haru gave a sad smile. “I think he’s just scared he’ll stop by and end up getting the same treatment.”

“No offense, Haru, but he did seem like a major creep.” Ryuji winced at his own words, thinking he should have chosen them more carefully.

“None taken. He is a creep.” She looked up examining the sky. “I wish I could have nothing to do with him.”

“Why can’t you?”

“It’s an arranged marriage. His family has powerful political connections and my father wants to jump into politics.” Her eyes followed a group of pigeons that landed on a roof across the way. “I’m his way of making the connection between the two. He gets political support and Sugimura becomes his heir.”

“That’s… that’s effin’ bullshit, man.” Ryuji couldn’t give a name to the feeling in the pit of his stomach. 

Haru laughed at his mannerisms. “It is ‘effin’ bullshit,” she said in a mocking tone. “But that’s just the kind of thing that happens when you’re an heiress. I’m nothing more than the connections my father can make.” Her sad tone returned. She scooted closer to Ryuji and he put his arm around her.

“I’m sorry, Haru.” He didn’t have any words to say. “Is there anything I can do?”   
“You’re doing a lot just by listening, Ryuji-kun.” The bell signaling that class would begin soon rang, and the two parted ways.

Ryuji struggled to focus in class the rest of the day. He couldn’t get Haru out of his mind.

He wondered if there was something the Phantom Thieves could do...

===

“How could you  _ know _ about a new investigation team and not tell me!?” Souji had never actually seen Chie fight with Yu or Rise before.

“Because we both know you’d storm off to help them.” Yu and Rise both started to speak at the same time but Souji could tell they were on the same page. “They’re not an investigation team, Chie. They’re Phantom Thieves.”

“It’s the same thing!” Rise shook her head.

“No, it’s really not.” She told Chie of their trip into Shido’s palace, and of the sick ass outfit she got to wear. “The outfit was the coolest part, honestly. I need to talk to my tailor…”

“Not the point!” Chie spoke a little more loudly than was necessary. “I want to bust some shadow heads again! Come on guys, this would be the best.”

“We don’t even know how they get there,” Yu argued, but Rise started looking off in the other direction like she always did when she lied. ‘At least she didn’t start whistling this time.’ “Unless Rise’s got something to say.”

“Well, I wasn’t going to say anything because we really need to leave this to the kids.” She pulled out her phone and showed the two an app she’d discovered. “But this app appeared on my phone after our little trip.”

Yu wasn’t exactly thrilled she’d kept that from him. “And you didn’t tell me, why?”

“Because you’re just as gung ho as Chie,” she looked at Chie who was practically foaming at the mouth. “We’re here as backup. If we’re asked, we help.”

Yu sighed.

Chie started to argue but was shushed immediately. 

“We can’t hang onto this forever.” Rise’s voice took on a sad tone. “It’s easy for us to romanticize our investigation but we don’t talk about what we almost lost.”

She was right, Yu thought.

“What would you have done if we lost Nanako?”

Yu didn’t want to think about it.

“What would we have done if we hadn’t been able to save Naoto? Or Marie?” Rise sighed. “I’m not saying I regret it. It was the best year of my life. I’m saying we shouldn’t push it. If we get dragged into this, that’s fine. But we shouldn’t go searching for trouble.”

She tried to lighten the mood.

“Besides, imagine the media if I disappeared from the public eye again?”

Chie was pouting. 

“We never should have let you hang out with Naoto.” Yu laughed at the quip.

Rise took offense. “At least I didn’t pick up Akihiko’s worst quality.”

“How dare you insult Master!”

“That still sounds like a sex thing,” Yu quipped.

“ _ Shut up, Yu!” _ At least Chie and Rise found something they could agree on. 

===

“I can’t believe you made Minato go to school today.” Yukari interrupted Minako’s bingeing of television. Minako hadn’t any intention of sleeping that night, having a small clue of the kind of dreams she’d be having. Staying awake was her best chance to flee the trauma of getting a metaphysical bullet to the brain.

“He was going to be better off at school than he would be with me being a mope all day.” Yukari nodded.

“I don’t know if I could handle two of you moping around like this.” 

Minako had to change the subject. She didn’t want a philosophical conversation with Yukari of all people about her own mental state. 

“So, what’s it like having your long dead boyfriend back?”

Yukari laughed. “It’s funny, I missed him so much. But he’s so bashful now.”

“My brother? Bashful?” 

“Right? It’s like he’s scared of me. I guess I’m an older woman, technically?” She looked a little sad. “It’s like he’s afraid to even hold my hand. I’ve only gotten a hug from him when he first came back.”

“Are you two together?” Yukari shrugged.

“I don’t know. I haven’t tried to address it.” 

“Do you want to be?”

“I want him back so badly.” She paused. “But I want the him that was the same age as me.”

Minako nodded. “I suspected that would be a problem. Have you talked to him about it?”

“I’ve been avoiding it.”

“That’s not right.”

“...I know.” Yukari slumped over in her seat and rested her head on her fist. “My career would be over if they found out I was with someone so young.”

“Do you still love him?”

“I haven’t figured that out yet, either.” Yukari sat back up. “Not in a romantic way, I don’t think. I don’t know.”

“This is gross and please don’t go into detail,” Minako prefaced. “Are you still attracted to him?”

“...I don’t think I am. He’s just a kid and I’m grown.”

“You should talk to him.”

Yukari nodded.

“Later.”

===

_ After School _

The kid should be off school by now, Sojiro thought, although he was never quite sure when he would actually show up back home. Most days he would be out and about with his friends doing whatever. Sojiro didn’t want to know. ‘The less I know, the better,’ he had told the kid at one point. He was getting into all the same stuff that Wakaba was and Sojiro wanted no part of it. He felt a bit safer, though, knowing that Shido was no longer a problem. He couldn’t imagine any of Shido’s subordinates being as bloodthirsty. 

He was broken away from his thoughts when a short (and beautiful) woman came into the cafe.

“Good afternoon,” he greeted. “What’ll ya have?”

She had a sad look on her face like she’d been grieving but Sojiro wasn’t about to pry. He’s a barista, she’ll probably tell him anyway. It always ended up that way. 

“Just a cup of coffee, thank you.” She looked around the place. “It smells delicious in here.”

“Thank you. You should try the curry next time you’re hungry,” Sojiro said. “It goes best with a cup of coffee.” The woman nodded. Sojiro went to work making the coffee but not without stealing a couple glances at the woman, who had picked up a newspaper from the stand at the front of the cafe. She had a thin figure and straight black hair, and she dressed in jeans and a t-shirt Sojiro recognized as being from a previous Olympics. It was one that the athletes normally wore after their event. 

She looked familiar to him, somehow. Her facial features were similar to one of the kids Ren hung around with. It was the sympathetic look on her face that had Sojiro intrigued. It almost looked like it didn’t fit in with her features, like sadness as an emotion was new to her. He decided at that point that he needed to focus on the coffee and stop staring. 

He’d finished up the coffee when he noticed her looking at him. He walked the coffee over to her and she looked down at it. He sighed.

“It’s on the house. You look like you could use it.” 

She was silent for a brief moment before she nodded and took a sip. Sojiro knew the look on her face. His coffee was always a revelation for people that hadn’t had good coffee.

“I’m glad you like it,” he said with a friendly smile. 

“It’s amazing.” She’d focused on drinking her coffee while Sojiro went back to working on the crossword puzzle he was struggling with when she walked in.

The cafe was silent for a little bit before she spoke again. Sojiro was right when he thought he’d end up hearing her story.

“I don’t want you feeling sorry for me, you know.” She looked down into the empty cup. “You’re right that I need a pick-me-up.”

“Something happen?”   
“Nothing that’s not my own fault.” She sighed. “I sided with my husband over my own daughter. Now she’s off living with some stranger and he’s sitting in a cell.” Sojiro knew better than to judge without knowing the whole story. Ren had taught him that in such a short time.

He thought about Wakaba. She’d tell him the same thing.

“Have you apologized to her, at least?”

“That’s actually why I’m here. She’d recommended this place as a neutral location to meet.” She trembled a bit. “I need to do this.” Sojiro made his way across the bar and sat next to her, rubbing her back to comfort her. 

“I’m sure she’ll listen.” 

“If she was smart, she’d blow me off.”

At that point, Ren walked in, followed by Dr. Takemi and that girl that followed her around like a lost puppy.

Ren approached the woman. “Fujinami-san, hello.” Then he went upstairs.

Sojiro was pretty sure he stepped in it.

===

Reiko stood up and approached her daughter, who had sat in a booth with Dr. Takemi.

“Rio, I’m so sorry, I-” She was interrupted before she could ramble further.

“Mom, what you did is not okay.” Rio wasn’t about to give her mother the benefit of the doubt. Whether she’d had her heart changed or not, she deserved whatever guilt she was feeling. “What dad did is worse. I need you to tell me what you want so we can cut this short.”

Takemi sat at the side and listened, more as an enforcer than anything. Reiko found herself feeling intimidated.

“I know it’s terrible.” Reiko looked down. “We don’t deserve you.”

“I want to stay with Dr. Takemi.” Reiko had expected that.

She nodded.

“I understand.” She hadn’t spoken to her husband since he turned himself in. She didn’t know when she’d see him again. Who knows what else he’d turned himself in on? “It may be for the best. I don’t know where your father and I sit.”

“What?”

“Your father and I. I don’t know if we’ll be together after he gets out of jail.” Rio was shocked. “I can’t bear to look at him.”

It made sense to Rio. They were very much a team when it came to treating her like shit. Now that they could finally feel guilty, they couldn’t handle being around each other.

Reiko addressed Takemi. “I’ll sign whatever papers needed for you to get guardianship.” She looked at Rio. “But if you’ll still allow me to be in your life, I’ll make it up to you.”

“I think,” Rio paused. “I think there’s a way I can remain in contact. But it won’t be soon. And our next meeting will not be a happy one.”

Tae nodded at her words.

“I realized last night that I have learned behaviors picked up from you.” 

Takemi spoke up for the first time during the meeting. “What she means is she’s picked up bad habits from watching how you and her father interact.”

“That makes sense.” Reiko truly understood. It made her think about her parents. Perhaps, it was a string of abusive households that culminated in her creating her own abusing household. “Rio, I’m sorry.” She got up from her seat and bowed. “I’ll never truly make it up to you, but I hope we can be around each other again, some day.”

She turned around, bid farewell to Sojiro and walked out of the cafe.

Rio and Takemi prepared to leave when Takemi said something to Sojiro. 

“Were you hitting on Rio’s mom?”

Sojiro looked like he’d been accosted by a cop.

“What? No, I wouldn’t do that.” 

“Sure, Sakura. Whatever you say.”

===

_ Evening _

“Minato, we should probably talk.” He was startled by the interruption. He was trying to work on homework.

“Yukari, what’s up?” His girlfriend (?) had entered his room and sat on his bed behind him. Minato was sitting at his desk.

“I figured we should talk about where we stand.” Minato nodded.

“I agree.” Before Yukari could talk. “I think it’d be pretty weird for you to be dating a 16 year old.”

“What?” Yukari couldn’t help but laugh. Then she sighed. 

“Look, at no point did I expect you to wait for me.”

Yukari thought about the time he was away. She hadn’t tried dating again because it just hurt too badly. 

“Yukari, I was  _ dead _ . Like  _ dead dead _ . Wasn’t coming back, dead. I’m okay if you’ve moved on.” He paused. “For what it’s worth, I’m proud of you. For living your life, I mean. After what happened with Minako, I’m not sure I’d have been able to do the same.”

“You were never this mature when you were alive the first time,” Yukari thought a joke would lighten the mood.

“What can I say? Ambling in the eternal nothingness of death for eight years made me grow up pretty quickly.”

“Ah, there’s the emo boy I love.” His cheeks turned red. 

“Think we could try again? Once I’m old enough?” 

“If you don’t find anyone your own age, sure.” Yukari chuckled. “You should try and find someone your own age, Minato.”

He couldn’t help but be just a little disappointed. “Can I still tell people at school that I dated Pink Argus?”

“You were telling people!?” 

“Just Futaba!”

“Clout chaser.”

“I don’t know what that means!”

“We’re going to have to sit you down and explain all the slang you’ve missed since you died.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uploads are slowed because we're back full time at work for the time being and now Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 came out. Chapter 28 is ready to go. I'm finishing up chapter 29 and I'm about halfway through writing chapter 30.
> 
> This chapter is just so full of angst, I love it. 
> 
> Song lyrics in the chapter are from Make Total Destroy by Pat the Bunny, a song about being far too old for punk and anarchist culture. I thought it was fitting.


	28. Funeral Crashers

_ Thursday, May 26, After School _

The Phantom Thieves, all 11 of them piled into LeBlanc’s attic to plan their next excursion into the Metaverse.

Ren stood at the front of the room. “Rio, Tae, what do you know about Oyamada’s Palace?”

Rio started to speak but had a frog in her throat. She was more than a little nervous. “We entered through a hatch on the back side of the building, the kind you’d find heading into a crawl space. It went into a room that was too clean looking to be a crawl space. There were a bunch of tables,”

“For autopsies,” Tae interjected.”

“Tables for autopsies.” Rio cleared her throat again. “Then there were these weird monster things. They looked like shadows or something, but when they attacked they’d turn into something else.”

“Do you know what they turned into?”

“I don’t have a name, if that’s what you mean. One of them turned into a really skinny demon looking thing with red skin.”

“There were also some slime monsters.” Tae interrupted again.

“That’s what we fought, mostly. Then there were the knight looking dudes on horses. They were rare, though. I think we only saw one.”

“What about this little fire pumpkin guys?” Tae wasn’t really interrupting this time, as Rio was done, but she shot Tae a look anyway.

“Yeah, those guys were there, too. They looked like pumpkins wearing a cloak.”

Ren thought for a minute. “Futaba, did you get all that?”

“Affirmative. Sounds like Incubus, Slime, Eligor and Pyrojack. Fairly low level.”

Ren nodded in agreement. “That’s good news if I’ve ever heard it.” He sighed. “I know I said nobody gets left behind but given what happened to Minako last time we went through a palace, I think we should split the team. That way there’s somebody in the real world who can do something if we need it.”

“Ren, we aren’t changing how we do things just because of me.” Minako said. She was only a lot offended that he thought so little of her.

“I’m not saying you aren’t capable. What happened to you is a failure in leadership and I refuse to let that happen again.” He returned a hard glare that would have made anyone yelp, but Minako returned one back.

“What happened to me is my own fault, and you need to stop being a self-martyring asshole.” Sumire prevented Minako from standing up.

“Coach, you need to calm yourself.”

Minako took a deep breath. “You’re right.” She grunted. “Let’s just go kill some shadows. It’ll make me feel better.”

“Are you sure?” Minato addressed his sister. “You’re two days out of the hospital. I doubt you’re in any shape to fight.”

“Well, you’re two weeks out of being  _ dead _ , so maybe you can’t fight either.” Minato could have gotten mad but he knew where his sister was coming from. 

“Sis, stop stealing my schtick. Brooding doesn’t suit you.”

“It doesn’t suit you either, but you do it cons-”

“Alright, both of you shut the fuck up because if we’re bitching about stealing schticks, Sumire and I have more to bitch about than anyone. Stop your bickering.” Kasumi was quicker to cut through the bullshit than most. “Ren, it’s up to you, but I say we send those two in alone and let them figure it out.”

“Do you actually think that?”

“No, but that doesn’t make them any less annoying.” 

“Kasumi, be nice to Coach.” Kasumi flinched at her sister’s chiding.

“Sorry, you’re right.” She rubbed her arm. 

“Well, this is going great, but can we make a decision?” Ryuji’s turn to speak. “I had to cancel gardening with Haru after school and I felt really bad.”

“Aw, Ryuji’s got a girlfriend!” Ren teased him. 

“It’s not that-” Ryuji stopped. “You’re effing with me.”

Ren gave a grin back. “What was your first clue?”

Apparently, Shiho and Ann hadn’t been paying attention to any of this, because the two of them and Futaba started losing their mind laughing at something Futaba was showing them on her phone. 

“Alright, that’s enough, everyone.” He thought for a second. “We’ll head in today. Tae and Rio are coming because this is their fight. If they’re going to be around, they’re going to learn what they’re doing.”

Tae nodded. Despite her hesitance the previous day, she was excited to keep fighting. Rio was even more excited. She wanted to see what Orpheus could do.

“Queen, Death, Royal and Violet, you’re on fighting duty with me.” Royal and Violet gave each other a high five. “Ares, Crow, Skull, Phoenix and Panther, you’re going to split up from the rest of the party. Crow, you’re navigation. Apologies in advance, but you’re the only one I trust to take a second group.” Crow couldn’t help but smile, hearing the Joker trusted him. “The faster we get this palace done, the better. We have another target we need to get to and we’re running behind.”

“Tae and Rio, you’re with my group. Queen will provide whatever explanation I can't.”

Joker looked around the room. “We ready?”

Everyone nodded in agreement, Rio nodded a bit too ferociously and made herself dizzy.

“Alright, it’s showtime.”

The group headed to Bunkyo, and entered the palace.

===

Queen did  _ not _ like this palace. Queen really  _ hated _ this palace. If she survived, she was going to find Oyamada and give him a piece of her mind. “Seriously!? A funeral home?!”

Joker had completely forgotten about Queen’s fear of the dark. “Queen, it’s not even that dark here.”

She took a second to get the quiver out of her voice. She looked at the front steps, realizing that almost certainly wasn’t their route. “It’s dark enough.” Queen let out a breath and, along with the rest of her group, walked towards the hatch that Tae and Rio had entered through the first time.

It wasn’t just Queen that got a start from their trip into the new palace but it wasn’t the palace itself that startled Death. 

“Somebody gotta be fucking with me, right?” He looked at Rio.

Rio’s metaverse outfit triggered him at least a little bit, although to Ren, it made at least a little bit of sense. Metaverse outfits were a product of the palace in which the person awakened to their Persona. It made as much sense to him that Rio wore a navy blue trench coat with red accents and crosses on the arms that made her look like a character from Castlevania. 

“I don’t quite understand what you mean,” Joker said, addressing Death. 

“You don’t see the resemblance?” Death sighed. “Fine. Let me show you. Thanatos!”

He summoned the monstrous ultimate Death Persona and Joker laughed at him. “You’re so paranoid.” Joker had to admit, there was a small resemblance, but not enough to freak out over. 

Joker took another second to think. 

“Death, she looks more like you than Thanatos.” They broke their conversation as they approached the hatch.

“I’m getting a reading from behind that door,” Oracle said.

It wouldn’t matter, anyway. The door was boarded up and no amount of pulling was going to get it open again. 

“It was open last time, I swear.” Rio sounded a bit panicky but Joker was quick to quash that. 

“This happens nearly every time.” He gave Oracle a death glare. “Or multiple times, in her case.”

“When are you going to tell me more about my palace?” Oracle was kind of excited he’d even acknowledged its existence. 

“Probably never.” Joker went back to Rio. “This is a good road bump. We didn’t give either of you code names.”

Royal and Violet, who had been keeping to themselves mostly (they were about as fond of funeral homes as Queen, it would seem), both spoke up at the same time like they had an idea.

“You first,” Violet told her sister.

“No, you first.” Royal argued back. 

Joker interrupted their bickering. “I don’t have the experts on dealing with you two here, so we’ll just have Rio go first.” Violet gave him a hurt look.

“That wasn’t nice.”

“I don’t know, sis. I kind of get where he’s coming from,” Kasumi said while picking at something on her mask. “It’s like Minako’s super power is getting us to stop being annoying.”

“ _ Nobody here has super powers! _ ” Queen shouted.

Joker was slightly taken aback but shook his head. “Uh. Alright then. I… Rio, do you have an idea for a code name?”

“Not really. I didn’t know that was something I was supposed to be thinking of…” She looked at Tae. “You got any ideas?” Rio didn’t trust the Yoshizawas to come up with anything good. They barely knew her. 

“Omen.” Everyone glared at Takemi. “What? The second she talked about Orpheus, Death was all ‘that seems ominous,’ right?”

“Doesn’t that seem like a jinx?” Violet spoke up.

“Well, now it’s a reverse jinx, sis.” 

“But now it’s a jinx again…”

“Alright, we could argue about how jinxes work all day.” Joker sighed. “Omen work for you?”

Rio loved it. “Yes!” She was more enthusiastic than Joker expected. 

“Alright, what about the doctor?”

Without skipping a beat, Takemi said “Dr. Legs,” and Ren’s face turned redder than anyone had ever seen it.

“No.”

“Joker, honey, what’s she talking about?” Violet had a Haru-esque warning in her voice, the kind where the voice came out sweet but it was laced with venom.

“Oh, it wasn’t anything he had control over, Violet.” Tae told the young girl. “He’s one of my guinea pigs for a drug I’m testing…”

“You see how that’s worse, right?” Kasumi interrupted.

“Anyway.” Tae cleared her throat. “The first dose knocked him out, but he was just awake enough to flirt with me endlessly. He also talked endlessly about you guys, but he’d already told me about you beforehand anyway.”

Queen’s eyes got big. “You’re just outright telling people!?” 

“Jeez, Queen. I’ve done this a million times, remember?”

“What does that mean?” Omen interrupted. 

“We’ll explain later.”

“Code name. What is the doctor’s code name going to be?” Queen tried to get the group back on track.

“Is Kavorkian too on the nose?” Death inquired. Joker gave him an incredulous look and didn’t dignify him with an answer.

Joker did have what he thought was a great idea. “What about Plague?” He watched Takemi’s face turn to anger and then to something else, like she was actually thinking about it.

“Fuck it. That’s perfect.”

===

The other group was having a much easier time getting along than they expected. Crow took to navigating quite easily; he already had a keen eye for spotting what others were missing. Remembering weaknesses and pointing out little things in the Metaverse was a snap. It was even easier when he found a back window to the place was left open.

“How do these places have such tight security and so many security flaws?” Phoenix quipped.

“How about you don’t jinx it, eh babe?” Phoenix’s cheeks matched Panther’s outfit after the retort. She couldn’t take teasing nearly as well as she doled it out.

The group snuck through the dimly lit back halls of the palace. The walls were a dark maroon color with a gaudy green and beige carpet that reminded Ares of Tartarus just a little. She was left in charge of the ambushes and they handily took care of any shadows they came across: She suspected this would be another low level palace similar to the Fujinamis’ and she was correct. There was a fairly annoying number puzzle that led to what Crow had said was the lobby but they hadn’t found a map yet. They’d yet to fight anything that might be stronger than an Incubus, so it hadn’t really bothered her that they didn’t have a map. They had enough Goho-M’s that any trouble they could potentially run into would be easily avoidable. 

Waiting in the lobby was a portly man of average height. He wasn’t overweight, Ares though, as much as he just might have been unfortunately proportioned. He had a slouch that didn’t do him any favors and glasses so thick she imagined he couldn’t see without them. He had yet to notice them. This must be Oyamada.

Crow confirmed that it was indeed Oyamada; he had seen him once before at the clinic. “Do we confront him?”

Panther and Phoenix looked to Ares. Skull was distracted fiddling with his pipe. 

“We really need a way to communicate with the others,” Ares said. “I guess we confront him. I don’t know the guy, so this will be… interesting.”

===

Death took the lead while Joker stayed back with Omen and the Plague for protection, meaning they weren’t doing a whole lot of sneaking. Death took every shadow head-on, which was only fine with Joker because he killed them singlehandedly most times. He would have to take Death aside later and talk to him about letting Queen, Violet and Royal fight some to get them some battle experience. Joker trusted Queen to pick things up but this was still his first time around with Violet and Royal and it would be nice to get himself caught up with his own analysis of the situation. 

There weren’t any puzzles along this hallway; they’d entered through a back door that was left unlocked and led them into a kitchen. The shadows there were a bit tougher than Omen and Plague had described at some point but they still weren’t a match for Death. The strongest they’d run into was a Queen Mab that still offered no real pushback. Death wasn’t even the one to take her down; he got tired of listening to the Yoshizawas whine that they weren’t getting a turn. Queen seemed exasperated at the whole thing.

“Is it always this… competitive?” Plague asked Joker.

“There’s always some form of it.” Joker sighed. “Violet and Royal make everything a competition. It gets worse in the Metaverse. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we’re all a little less inhibited here.”

“I mean, I haven’t noticed it in myself at all.” She looked down and held out her skirt like she was checking it out. “I’m digging the skirt, though. Think I could get away with wearing this at work?”

“I think I get what you mean, Joker,” Omen wasn’t much interested in her mentor’s fashion choices, at least right now. ‘The skirt  _ is _ kind of cool.’ “It’s kind of killing me sitting on the sidelines.”

“I’ll ask Death what he thinks of letting you guys fight a bit.” Joker looked on as Violet unleashed a Heat Wave that demolished three enemies. “That’s my girl.” He said quietly, the pride evident in his voice.

===

The other group drew straws for who had to speak when confronting the Chief. None of them knew his name, so that would already make the beginning of this just a tad awkward.

“We’re changing a guy’s heart and we don’t even know his name? That feels wrong…” Panther said, trailing off, but her girlfriend interrupted her.

“He’s such scum that we must not utter his name,” she said in a heroic voice. “Oh, also, Skull loses.”

“Mother effer.”

“Fucking really, Skull? You won’t even say it here?” Phoenix wasn’t teasing. She was legitimately annoyed at Skull for not swearing.

“I don’t like that word.”

“Then use a different word!”

“I don’t appreciate you speaking to me in that tone of voice, Phoenix.” Skull was dead serious.

“I-you-uh…” Phoenix couldn’t get words out. “I’m sorry. I’ll try and tone it down.”

“Thank you.” 

Ares couldn’t believe how absurd this group was. Fighting to the top of Tartarus brought with it some quirky behavior, but these kids were all acting like they were constantly taking advice from a therapist.

‘Maybe I should see a therapist,’ Ares thought to herself. “Alright, Skull, go talk to the nice man.”

“He’s not nice! We wouldn’t be here if he were!”

“Sarcasm, Skull,” Panther interrupted. “She was making a joke.”

Skull looked his eyes downward. “I’m not a smart man.”

“I can’t imagine the other group having conversation nearly as colorful, though.” Crow was thoroughly entertained by the banter. “We really should focus.”

“Right, the Chief guy.”

Skull appeared out of their hiding spot, the rest of the group following.

“Um, hey, Chief dude.” 

‘Good start,’ Ares thought.

Chief Oyamada turned to face the man greeting him.

“I must say, I didn’t expect to be greeted by my intruders as though I were a classmate.” The shadow sneered at Skull. He was wearing a three piece suit and a hat with a monocle. 

“Yeah, uh, sorry. Nobody ever told me your name.”

“You mean you’re intruding on the property of a man you don’t even know?”

“Ya know, we just had that discussion and…” the shadow backed up.

“Guards! Take care of this trash!”

“What the eff!” Skull backed off as the rest of the group prepared for a fight. 

A giant yellow gorilla with a black face, a black belly and a white mane appeared before the group. It was accompanied by two gnomes with white beards using leaves as umbrellas. Crow shouted from behind the group.

“Weak to fire! All of them.”

Panther perked up at that. “Wouldn’t you know it? Ares, you ready?”

“You know it!” Ares looked at the three shadows that spawned and shouted “Orpheus!” The master of strings appeared behind her and threw an agidyne after them; Ann followed up with a maragilao that left all three down. An all out attack ended the fight and the Chief (Oyamada, they discovered) tucked tail and ran, trying to escape from the group that had him truly outmatched. 

He would have made it out, had he not ran headlong into Death himself.

===

“W-w-what? There are two groups of intruders?” The look of fear on his face when he saw Plague was iconic. 

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Plague said.

“Ha! I get it!” Royal shouted this from across the room. Violet nudged her sister asking for an explanation and got it. The two started giggling. 

Oyamada was not finding any of this funny. Instead, he was absolutely scared out of his mind. 

“Hey, could you show us where the treasure is? We might not hurt you if you just show us where the treasure is.” Ares spoke in a kind voice. No reason to be rude when this man obviously wanted no part in a fight.

The shadow pointed with shaking hands at a door. “It’s just past there.”

“Thanks, man.” The Thieves went to check it out and sure enough it was there. Shadow Oyamada followed.

“The good thing for you,” Plague spoke to the shadow, “is that confessing your crimes probably won’t cost you your job. Doctors do this shit all the fucking time.”

He nodded in agreement.

“Fuck me over again, and I won’t be this nice. We’ll be back again soon.”

Joker had never seen a shadow run away from them so quickly.

===

Reiko’s husband’s trial was next week and she’d had an awful lot of time to spend alone thinking of how she’d mistreated her daughter. She couldn’t escape the horrible guilt of knowing her daughter never wanted to speak to her again. ‘It’s all my fault, too.’ She didn’t protect Rio when she should have. She knew of her husband’s violent streak but it had largely been geared towards her. The older Rio got, the more likely it became that Hirosi would direct his anger towards her. It made sense: Rio was the spitting image of her mom; Reiko hadn’t a doubt that it impacted how her father behaved.

She didn’t even know why she’d stayed with him for as long as she did. They’d had cracks in their relationship before they got married but things got pushed along further when they found out they were pregnant. Both were beyond the traditional married age with a pretty good avenue for making money, so taking care of a baby wasn’t out of the question. Reiko was attractive enough that she could make a living off of her looks and her husband had his volleyball career. Shilling protein powders and workout clothes was synch for both of them. Her career had ended a bit prematurely but she was still well-known enough. Being pretty didn’t hurt.

Still, Reiko hadn’t imagined her life turning up this way. She hadn’t imagined being distraught that her daughter wouldn’t speak to her. Reiko didn’t even remember liking her daughter that much. Babies were gross little poop machines who couldn’t do anything besides cry and beg. It was a level of pathetic she never got used to. She didn’t know how her own mother had done it, raising several kids plus other people’s children when their parents had abandoned them. That house was never quiet.

Their house always was quiet, though. Rio learned at too young of an age what crying would lead to. Reiko couldn’t bear to think of it and she would have surely broken down had a plate not been placed in front of her.

She took Sojiro up on his offer to try out the curry with the coffee the very next day. The coffee was incredible and had she felt well enough to eat the day before, she’d have gotten curry. The smell had her hooked the second she walked through the door. Returning was a no brainer; it helped that the man behind the counter was an absolute fox… ‘I’m married. Stop it.’

Sojiro had been nicer to her than she deserved. She at least wanted to give him her patronage. She’d be sure to tip well. 

===

That beautiful woman from yesterday, Rio-chan’s mother, walked back through the door while Sojiro was going through the newspaper that afternoon. He nearly dropped it when she walked in.

“Ah, you’re back.” He greeted her with a smile.

“I couldn’t get the smell of your curry out of my mind.” Reiko said back. “It helps that the company’s good.”

“I wouldn’t be much of a barista if I wasn’t good company, Reiko-chan.” He really wanted to play this off like it wasn’t weird. “But I’m glad you came back.” He’d set the plate in front of her and she was quick to dig in. ‘Never is a woman more beautiful than when she’s actually taking the time to taste my cooking.’ It drove Sojiro nuts watching Sumire and Kasumi, or god forbid Minako, an actual grown adult, eat in his cafe. They just inhaled food and asked for more like they hadn’t just eaten the best curry in the city. Reiko, at least, seemed like a woman of culture. She was a fair bit older than the girls that were typically in his cafe, though. It made sense that she ate like a lady.

‘I guess having the kid around pays dividends,’ Sojiro thought. Women like Reiko Fujinami never spent time in his cafe before Ren came around. He was normally subjected to the one overbearing woman that was constantly hitting on him in a very creepy manner or the usual elderly couples. There was also the pompous man who hadn’t been showing up as much lately. ‘Maybe I should check on him.’

Sojiro must have broken Reiko out of a thought when he asked her a question.

“How are you feeling after yesterday?” She jumped a little in her seat. He wondered if that were sore subject.

“I’m not doing great,” she spoke carefully. “My husband is probably going to be doing some jail time.”

“That’s too bad.”

“No, it really isn’t. He deserves it. The only reason I’m not doing jail time is because I never joined in. But I never stopped him. That’s just as wrong.” 

Sojiro nodded. “There’s a bunch of old cliches about that. The kid who stays here, he’s all about the old cliches. I hear him spout them constantly.”

“Evil succeeds when good men do nothing,” Reiko repeated something she’d heard an old volleyball coach say. “It might be a cliche, but it holds some truth.”

Sojiro didn’t reply.

“I did nothing, therefore committed an evil act.” Reiko sighed. “I’ll never forgive myself. I assume somebody spoke to you after I left?”

“They didn’t have to, I’m not deaf.” Sojiro chuckled. “Not blind either. You looked like you were gonna be sick.”

She blushed a little. She didn’t want Sojiro to see her like that. ‘I’m not 16 anymore. Why does that even bother me?’ “I actually did get sick when I went home.” Reiko didn’t know why she was being this honest, or why her heart was beating this fast. “I just think the guilt got to me. I’m feeling better today, though. The curry helped.”

They continued talking a bit when Wakaba walked in.

“Hey, Soji, you seen Futaba?”

“She’s off with her friends somewhere. Dometown or something, I don’t really know. I think they were getting pancakes.”

“Oh, right.” Wakaba thought for a second, then it dawned on her. “I forgot that was today.” She looked at the woman she didn’t recognize. “You a new regular? Soji doesn’t get new people in here often.”

“Hey, I’ve had more new customers in the last two months than you can count.” Sojiro spoke in a gruff tone.

“Yeah, because you’re the main attraction. You old geezer.” 

“If you’re just going to give me guff, I can ban you again.”

Wakaba feigned offense and waved her arm in a slapping motion. “You wouldn’t dare! What would Futaba think? She’s your responsibility, too.”

Reiko had no clue what was going on but these two must have been best friends. She hadn’t had a best friend in a long time and it was making her feel a bit self conscious.

“She only has my last name  _ because some nosy brat _ stuck her nose in business that wasn’t hers and thought she was going away forever.” Sojiro’s voice was more mocking than angry, Reiko thought. It could have been misconstrued as either.

“Let’s just tell  _ everyone _ I had a hit put out on me.” Wakaba gave Reiko a look. “Eh. I’m sure she’s fine.” She looked at Sojiro and raised an eyebrow. Reiko side eyed Sojiro but he didn’t catch it and he blushed as though Wakaba were insinuating something. 

“We’re just lucky she’s the only person in the cafe.” Gruff fit Sojiro.

Reiko decided she should introduce herself to the woman before she took her leave; apparently she was now partaking in a secret that didn’t seem all that much like a secret.

“I’m Reiko Fujinami.” She stuck a hand out and Wakaba took her hand. 

“Wakaba Isshiki, nice to meet you. Hopefully this old fart here isn’t giving you a hard time.” Sojiro cleared his throat but ignored them, his nose stuck in a newspaper.

“He’s been quite hospitable, I’d say,” Reiko spoke in a polite tone.

Wakaba thought for a second. “Are you Rio’s mom? Futaba’s spoke of her. She seems like you’ve got a great girl you’ve raised.” 

The words came off as barbed but perhaps Reiko was projecting. She really was feeling down about how poorly she treated her daughter. Reiko gave a stressed sight and thought she’d let the words hang in the air for too long.

“She really is a great girl. I’m so proud.” She had to get out of here before she started crying again. “I wish it hadn’t taken me 15 years to realize that.”

If Wakaba’s words before were barbed, she didn’t show it now. 

“I can relate.” Wakaba thought about all the times she’d left Futaba home alone while she did her research. Had Sojiro not stepped up, Futaba could have ended up all alone in the world. Knowing her, she’d have become a recluse attached only to her computer. “If it weren’t for this guy, I’d be the world’s worst mother.”

“Ah, so I have him to thank for my title victory.” 

Wakaba laughed at the self-deprecation. Reiko had left.

“She seems nice,” Wakaba said to Sojiro with a raised eyebrow. 

“She’s married.”

“Not for long, though.” She practically sang the words. “I’m just saying, Soji, you’ve been all over the online dating lately and a woman like that just drops into your lap. You’re gonna let that get away?”

Sojiro was getting frustrated. He knew he had issues committing and he knew that Wakaba knew those reasons.

“Fine, Wakaba. If you let this go, I’ll ask her out.” He spoke through gritted teeth.

She gave him a grin similar to the kind Futaba would give Ren after selling a video of him and his girlfriend for $8. 

“Good.” She then plopped down. “Soji, I hunger! Feed me!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like the idea that some of the more minor Mementos requests have small palaces. 
> 
> As said before, updates have slowed down a bit because of work. I've got a long weekend so I'm a bit ahead of the game again, but I'm stretching updates so I'm not going forever without one. Luckily, the majority of the story through the end of August is now outlined and the next few months should go by much more quickly. Now, just to write all of it.


	29. Death Notice

_ Friday, May 27, Early Morning _

The Phantom Thieves were going to send the calling card on Saturday. Minako and Minato wanted to send it today but Sumire and Kasumi were both adamant that they not miss gymnastics practice again. They only had a few days until Coach Hiraguchi returned and they wanted to be in tip-top shape when she returned: If Minako’s work looked good, she might be allowed to return and the younger set of twins were determined to make that happen. They even intended to stop their absurd inter-sibling competition for the next few practices.

Rio and Shiho would have volleyball practice that they didn’t want to miss either. Coach Iori was looking into getting the team a break before summer tournaments started, which would be nice, but both girls had career aspirations beyond high school and thought they couldn’t afford to miss any more time even if the coach would cover for them. 

If Ren were to ever have a day off, he would want to spend it with Sumire. Her having practice was a bit disappointing but he’d suspected gymnastics would have to come before anything else anyway. He didn’t want to think about what her mental state would become if she fell too far behind her sister. 

Ren was about to voice this concern over a phone call when he realized they’d only been dating for a few weeks. ‘How about I don’t bring the move-in van to the third date?’ He did voice, however, that he would like to take Sumire on another date sometime soon, which led him to meet her at the diner a couple blocks away from the school the next morning. He hadn’t been there before, so this would be another first for him. 

They met at Shibuya Central Station; their paths normally crossed on the way to school there anyway but it was rare for them to hit the station at the same time. 

Sumire sat across from Ren in the busy diner. It must’ve been more popular with Shujin students than either of them realized because they both ran into a few classmates. It wasn’t a secret that they were dating but Ren was concerned at what them being so public would do to Sumire’s reputation. He wasn’t exactly the feared transfer student he was when he first got to the school but he still had a reputation as a shady guy. Sumire still had the reputation of the superstar athlete honor student. He could already hear the figurative whispers of their classmates, spreading the rumor that she liked bad boys and that she should be more like her sister, dating another star athlete instead of a delinquent. ‘Look at me,’ Ren thought. ‘Worrying about the Shujin rumor mill like I might actually make it out of this mess alive.’ He’d come a long way in a short time. He had Sumire to thank for that, at least partially. 

The once-shy redhead, though, had no thoughts of the rumor mill. Ren was hers and she wanted everyone to know it. She strongly suspected that once Ren’s reputation cleared up he’d be in high demand. It was only a matter of time before the rest of the school realized just how amazing her boyfriend was. She still hated it when he’d hang out with Ann and Makoto, even if the two of them were both spoken for. ‘A little jealousy is healthy,’ Sumire thought, but the voice in her head was Kasumi’s, not her own. 

“You look like you’re thinking hard.” Ren interrupted her thoughts. Their food was already at the table and it was always surprising when Sumire didn’t just start scarfing it down. 

“Oh, yeah, sorry.” Sumire was getting better about not being a blushing mess whenever her boyfriend addressed her. Fighting in the Metaverse helped. She wouldn’t have time to blush and act confused there. She would have to act. “I was just thinking about how once your name clears, I’m going to have to learn how to beat up every other girl at school.”

Sumire had stumbled upon something that Ren hadn’t thought of. ‘Holy fuck.’ His mind raced. ‘Shido’s dead.’

‘...’

He couldn’t help but smile the biggest, happiest smile he ever had. ‘Once news of his transgressions get out… I’m free.’

“Ren?” He shook out of his thoughts.

“I just realized that my probation will probably be revoked…” Sumire laughed at the look of relief on his face.

“You just thought of that now? Senpai, that was the first thing everyone else thought of.” She took a large bite. “I swear, for being some master tactician, you miss a lot.”

“Hey, I take offense to that.” Ren gave a mock pout. “I mean, if you think  _ you _ could do a better job, we can make you our leader.”

“Even if you weren’t kidding that wouldn’t sit well with Kasumi,” Sumire said. “She’d lose her mind.” 

Ren rested his head on his chin. “Hmm. That would be pretty funny.”

“Senpai! Be nice! You don’t have to live with her.”

“You only have to live with her  _ for now _ .” 

A blush on Sumire’s face managed to reach a shade of crimson he thought impossible. 

“Is she really that bad?”

Sumire had a guilty look on her face. “No. She’s not.” The blush slowly started to fade away. The look persisted as she went back to her food.

“Is something wrong?”

“We’ve missed a lot of practice…” she trailed off.

“And you don’t want to fall behind.”

She nodded. “I love fighting with everyone. And seeing you in the Metaverse…” she didn’t finish that part but her cheeks gained some color. “Well, let’s just say it’s nice to look at.”

He gave Sumire a smirk. “And I thought you were the innocent one.”

She mumbled something he couldn’t hear.

“What was that?” She made a frustrated groan.

“Not as innocent as you’d think.”

Sumire was just full of surprises. “...We really need to find more alone time,” Ren said. They both laughed then paid their bill after. It was time for school.

===

_ Lunchtime _

Ren got pulled to the side by Kawakami before he could make his way to the roof.

“Are you busy tonight?” She spoke in a hushed tone that Ren thought made her seem more suspicious than speaking in a normal voice would have.

“Shockingly, I’m free.” She nodded at the acknowledgement. She must have something to talk about that she can’t speak of at school.

===

_ After School _

Ryuji and Haru had gotten most of the heavy lifting needed done in that morning a few days ago, so they spent more time relaxing on the roof than they did tending to the plants. It had rained the night before so there was no need to over water anything. 

“How have your studies been, Ryuji-kun?” Haru had been in a particularly good mood and Ryuji had noticed. He didn’t know how to address her after the conversation they’d had about her fiance. He’d been quite distracted from that conversation. 

“I’ll be lucky to make it out of second year, but it’s nothin’.” His grades were better now than they were when he was on the track team. He’d do anything for a distraction these days. The gym, studying, the Phantom Thieves, anything.

“Do you want help studying? I have time most days.” Ryuji should have lied, he thought. Haru didn’t need anything more to worry about.   
“Oh, it’s okay, Haru. You don’t need to waste your time on me. I’m a lost cause.”

“Don’t talk about yourself that way!” There was real anger in Haru’s voice that was a bit frightening. She must have noticed his wince because she was quiet after that. 

The quiet was just as scary as the anger.

“Sorry,” Ryuji said sheepishly.

“I didn’t mean to bite your head off.” Haru’s voice was back to almost normal. She sounded sincere in her apology. “I just want you to believe you aren’t a lost cause. You got into school here somehow, right?” Ryuji nodded in agreement. “Nobody who helps me out as much as you do could be a lost cause. I might make a gardener out of you.” 

“Hey, you needed the help and asked for help.” Ryuji left out the part that he found her painfully attractive. “It’s actually kind of fun, now. Ma’s noticed me talking about it a lot lately and she’s really impressed.”

“Oh! Does she want some of the vegetables? It’s only fair. You work really hard and I don’t have much use for them.”

“She’d love that.” He thought about how proud his mom would be to have vegetables for dinner that he grew himself. “Could I-uh, can I take you up on that offer to help me study?”

Haru shook her head yes enthusiastically. “Of course, Ryuji-kun. I wouldn’t have offered if I hadn’t meant it.”

“That’s cool, man. I appreciate it.” His mom would be out working late tonight, so he’d be by himself with a quiet house, perfect for studying. “Want to come to my house with me? Ma’s not home. We’ll be able to work in peace.”

Ryuji swore Haru blushed. Then he knew for sure he saw a devious smile before she said she would go. The two took off towards Ryuji’s home. Haru might have tried to grab Ryuji’s hand at one point. He wasn’t sure. He was too busy sweating bullets. ‘It’s weird that I can fight shadows just fine but this girl leaves me a terrified mess.’

===

If Takemi had been told months ago that she’d awaken to her spirit of rebellion in order to fight back against the man who tried to ruin her career, she’d have asked where that person bought their ganj. 

Now she was rebelling against one of the leaders of the medical community with a bunch of teenagers and a woman in her mid-20s that was about as mature as the teenagers, although Takemi was one to talk. ‘I’m a 28 year old woman who wears fishnets and a spiderweb dress to work on a regular basis.’ She never was one to leave the scene behind, although she hadn’t been to a concert in a long time. ‘Maybe I’ll take Goro and Rio with me. Makoto could come, too.’ Tae laughed at the thought. The kind of concerts she went to? Rio would probably be fine. Makoto and Goro would be fish out of water and she wasn’t sure if it would be hilarious or annoying. It could be tough taking care of a newb at a punk concert. 

Goro had been manning the front desk; the Phantom Thieves took the day off to allow the more athletically inclined of their members to actually attend practice for once. ‘Not only am I hanging out with teenagers, I’m not even hanging out with  _ cool _ teenagers.’ Takemi always hung out with the burnouts, save Aiyumi. Although she liked Aiyumi more than everyone else, so maybe it made sense she’d befriend a bunch of teenage honor students.

“Just let me speak to the doctor here and we’ll get you right back.” Goro must have been speaking to a customer. He knocked on the door to Tae’s office even though it was open. 

“What’s up?”

“There’s a man here with his daughter.” He looked at a clipboard he was holding. “She’s running a slight fever that’s gotten a little better but she slept all day. She’s begging him to not let her miss school again tomorrow.”

Tae normally disliked having new patients show up unannounced but that was also part of the job. This time, though, it didn’t bother her. She was a doctor and this is what she signed up for. ‘Where’s all this pride in my work come from?’

“Send them to the exam room. Hopefully it’s just the pollen. We can get her an antihistamine for that.”

Tae had more customers than usual that Friday, some sick, some just needing a checkup. She enjoyed every second of it.

===

If either of the girls had lost a step, it wasn’t apparent to Minako. They’d been going over their routines for their next meet, just under two weeks away. Minako wasn’t lying when she said fighting shadows was great training, although she didn’t expect just how much better it was for the twins. Everything they did seemed more effortless than before. And louder. Kasumi was treating her vaulting like she was trying to vault over a shadow, complete with a shout of warning. 

Sumire had done something similar when it was her turn.

“You guys are fucking dorks.” They were lucky there weren’t any other people using the gym at that time. Who practices on a Friday afternoon? ‘Crazy people, that’s who,’ Minako thought. ‘I guess we  _ are _ crazy people, though.’

“Alright, let’s wrap up for today.” Neither Sumire nor Kasumi seemed as exhausted as they normally would have been.

“Can’t we go a little longer?” Sumire whined.

Kasumi agreed. “I feel great today. Think we could go to Mementos?”

“And get murdered by Ren? No thanks.”

“But  _ coach, _ ” Sumire said. She wanted to go, too. “You’re leaving soon…”

“Oh. Yeah, I guess I am.” Minako had completely forgotten she’d only had a few days left. “I might try and convince Kirijo to let me stay. I’ll find a job around here somewhere.”

“You’re gonna stay!?” The twins shouted in unison then looked at each other.

“Damn straight. A shadow tried to kill me. I’m gonna get that piece of shit.”

Minako swore she could hear Sumire mutter “not if I get him first.” She’d been getting just a little scary, lately.

===

Well, at least it wasn’t Rio’s nose this time. Shiho sighed. It wasn’t that she was off her game this practice; it was more like she was  _ too _ on her game. Coach Iori didn’t get out of the way in time of an errant spike, the blur of a white ball catching him on the side of his head.

“Coach? Why were you standing in bounds?” A third-year called out. 

Shiho felt kind of bad but she mostly felt this was another case of Junpei devolving into Stupei. She’d have to thank Yukari for coming up with that nickname. Shiho and Rio were getting a lot of use out of it lately. 

Iori tried to shake off the cobwebs but couldn’t. Shiho had to help him back up. “Rio, help me get Coach to the nurse’s office. Apparently he can’t handle all these girls.”

Coach Iori didn’t retort, which Shiho took as a sign that he probably had a concussion.

“I think it’s just you, Shiho.” Rio followed behind Junpei in case he were to fall over for any reason. “You keep beating up on people. I’m just lucky my nose was fixable.”

“Yeah, wouldn’t want to damage your pretty little face.” Shiho stuck her tongue out. 

“My dad already tried.”

Shiho didn’t reply, instead giving Rio a hurt look. 

“Too dark?” Shiho nodded. “Whoops.”

They got Junpei to the office and sat him down, forcing him to hold an icepack on the bump. He was starting to shake off the daze from hitting his head.

“Jesus, Suzui. I can’t tell you the last time I got hit that hard.”

“Right? It feels more like a bowling ball than a volleyball.” Rio said. 

Shiho wasn’t comfortable with the fact she was causing actual physical harm to people around her. “Yeah, I’d prefer to stick to hurting people emotionally from here on out.” She addressed Junpei. “Got an evoker with you?”

“Nah. I’m fine, anyway. This is nothin’.”

“You sure?” 

“Yeah, my wife can fix me up when I get home.”

“You’re married?” Rio couldn't hide the shock in her voice.

“Why does everyone always sound so surprised when they find out I’m married?”

“Er. It’s just your, uh, youthful enthusiasm,” Shiho said.

“That’s what all my friends love about me. Somebody’s gotta make up for Minato’s brooding.”

Rio laughed. “Did he seem a little, um, extra broody today?”

Junpei shifted in his seat uncomfortably. “Him and Yuka-tan broke up. Well, more like- oh wait, nevermind. Yeah, him and Yukari broke up.”

“Oh.” Rio didn’t know anyone named Yukari. “That’s a shame.”

“Yeah. It was mutual.”

Rio felt like there was more to that story because she was pretty sure she caught Shiho mouthing the words ‘shut up’ at Iori the whole time he was talking. 

===

Minato ends up traversing Shibuya, and runs into Ryuji and Haru being harassed by Sugimura.

Being single again wasn’t all that cool, Minato discovered. The break up with Yukari was mutual and necessary, he didn’t doubt that. It was just difficult to get used to not having that person there to tell everything to. He could tell his sister, of course, but she tended to be a little… Well, there’s no point in dwelling further upon Minako’s special brand of helpfulness. 

The apartment wasn’t a dangerous space in the sense that Minato was in danger but against all popular belief, he didn’t enjoy sulking. It’s just what came most naturally, he thought. As a distraction, he decided to take a stroll through Central Street. The arcade was calling his name.

Actually, it wasn’t the arcade calling his name. It was Ryuji.

“Minato! Dude, wassup?” Ryuji and a girl in a pink cardigan crossed the crowded walkway to greet him. 

“Everyone ditched me, so nothing at all,” Minato said, thinking that he’d said that before. “You two on a date?”

Ryuji blushed but Haru didn’t miss a beat. “Oh, nothing like that. I’m just helping Ryuji-kun study. Would you like to join us?” 

Minato didn’t want to intrude on Ryuji but if they weren’t on a date, there was no reason to turn them down. 

He’d followed the two, who were definitely dating but didn’t know it yet, into the Big Bang Burger across from his journey’s original destination. He’d yet to try a Big Bang Burger but it seemed excessive; it was reminiscent of Wild Duck Burger, if Wild Duck Burger had burgers the size of his head. The interior was white and sanitary with Big Bang Burger logos everywhere; the line was long but moved fast enough that the wait wasn’t too bad and Minato was greeted with a surprise at the front of it.

Apparently, Haru’s father owned the chain, which meant their food would be free.

“I know you guys give me a hard time for knowing every celebrity, but aren’t you guys just as guilty?” Ryuji gave MInato a questioning look. “What? Were you not there when we talked about Kirijo?”

A light bulb went off in Ryuji’s head. “Oh! Yeah. Sorry, I don’t really pay attention to celebrity stuff. Shiho had to explain it to me.”

Haru, meanwhile, looked at both of them like they’d been keeping a horrible secret from her. 

“You know Mitsuru Kirijo?” Her eyes lit up like someone told her Santa Claus was coming to visit. “Nobody told me!”

“Ah, are you a fan?” 

“A fan!? She’s my inspiration!”

Minato was two parts thrilled that he found common ground with a person he barely knew, making socialization possible and one part annoyed that he would now spend the rest of the afternoon discussing the greatness of Mitsuru Kirijo.

===

The bags under Kawakami’s eyes could have held a week’s worth of groceries. The bell to LeBlanc rang while Ren was cleaning up after Sojiro. He’d offered to do the dishes knowing it would get Sojiro out of the cafe sooner; he’d saved some leftovers knowing his teacher probably hadn’t eaten. 

She deserved a good meal and a cup of coffee, at least.

The exhausted teacher took a seat at one of the stools. Ren had her food and coffee ready for her right as she’d sat down. 

“What’s this?”

“I assumed you’d be tired.” Ren took a sip of his own coffee.

“Was it that obvious in class?” 

Ren shook his head. “I just know how stressful your jobs are.”

Kawakami sighed. “I’m supposed to be taking care of you here, if you’re paying.”

“I don’t care what you do when you’re here.” Kawakami had finished her food by now and Ren had started doing the dishes. “I’ve got money, you need a break. It’s nothing more than that.”

Kawakami sighed, trying to embrace the grateful feeling brewing in her heart and ignore the other feelings brewing elsewhere.

“Thank you.”

They stayed quiet for a bit.

“What do you think of Coach Iori?”

“Why ask me?”

“You were pretty quick to come to blows with our last gym teacher. I always thought he was a nice guy til you came around.”

Ren laughed. “Yeah, Kamoshida was a really swell guy.”

Kawakami waved him off. “Don’t pretend you aren’t angry. Every student should be.”

She sighed. “I’ve failed more students than I care to admit.”

“Ignorance isn’t always failure.” Their eyes met. “You didn’t know. The most you can do now is do better in the future.”

===

_ Evening _

“Yu, I swear to god! You aren’t stowing away with the Phantom Thieves!” Rise’s frustration with her boyfriend grew greatly from her last conversation with him and Chie. They were both adamant that they would be joining the Phantom Thieves on their next journey into the TV World, or Metaverse, or whatever they called it. 

“But-”

“No buts!” She gave herself an internal ‘ugh!’ because she knew showing that much frustration wouldn’t get her anywhere. “You guys need to let go.”

Rise’s phone started ringing. 

_ “Kujikawa, I’d like you to gather the Investigation Team.” _ Kirijo’s voice came through the other line.

‘God. Fucking. Dammit.’ “Why?”

_ “We’re aiding the Phantom Thieves in a palace infiltration. Isshiki is taking the lead.” _

Rise looked at Yu. “Fuck you.”

_ “What was that?” _

“Sorry, Kirijo-san, I was talking to Yu.”

_ “Kujikawa-san, I’d appreciate you two discuss your private matters away from my ears.” _

“Yes, ma’am.”

The line went dead.

===

_ Sir Shoichi Oyamada, the purposeful purveyor of death and the bandit of careers, _

_ You have committed your last medical error. No longer will your misdeeds be the burden on the shoulders of others. No more lives shall be forfeit at your hands. _

_ Signed, _

_ The Phantom Thieves of Hearts _

“Mweheheheheheh.”

Futaba hit send on the text message. Takemi had given her Oyamada’s number; this was the easiest calling card they’d ever sent. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a shorter chapter that transitions into more actiony sorts of things. 
> 
> I decided to flip the usual role for Rise on it's ear because honestly, if any of the Investigation Team could move past the "glory days" it's her. 
> 
> Chapter 30 will be coming in a day or two. I'm up to writing the Madarame arc now, which is more the beginning of another arc I'd rather not spoil yet. It's a doozy. And it'll be at least in the background for the rest of the story.


	30. A Jinx, a Reverse Jinx and Another Jinx, then Another Reverse Jinx

_ Saturday, May 28, Early Morning _

“Someone’s up there!” A man below shouted and pointed up at Joker, who stood on a balcony, heart nearly stopped in shock. Men in black suits and glasses were searching the premises for him. He stared down at the crowds from below a skylight. There was no smile on his face this time.

“Not again.”

“...”

“I’m not fucking doing this again.”

“Good! Now get running!” Morgana’s voice screeched through his earpiece. And the whole script, that scene he had been through so many times, played out again. To his misery, nothing seemed different. He was doomed to restart.

“I haven’t even fucked up this time!” He let out a frustrated shout. “I didn’t even fucking die!”

“Joker, is everything okay?” Futaba broke through to him.

“No, nothing is.” Fuck. “Sorry, let’s get this shit moving.” He jumped across the lights and ripped the mask off the shadow, welcoming Arsene back into his life for the time being. Ridding himself of the shadows took seconds. 

He snuck through the halls and up the stairs as he always had. 

“I’m getting a weird reading heading your way!” Oracle warned. 

“That’s slightly different.”

He continued through the halls, reaching a dead end. A guard was waiting for him and there was no way around until one of the voices pointed out a grappling hook. He pulled it from his side and shot it upwards.

More shadows. A lot of them. “I’m dying early this time, ain’t I?”

Futaba warned of that odd reading again.

A woman in a black cape with a black leotard and a rapier entered the room, cartwheeling around shadows, shooting two of them with a revolver. 

“Let’s do this, senpai!”

“...Sumire?”

“Senpai, I…” Sumire collapsed. 

===

Ren woke up in a cold sweat at LeBlanc. He checked his phone immediately, ensuring he had the right date. He checked his most recent text messages. He’d told Sumire goodnight and she’d reply with a selfie of her smiling face. She looked like his girl in the photo but the dream was unsettling. Why had she collapsed when he called her Sumire? 

She’d be awake soon. Maybe she could meet him at the diner. He needed to see her face this morning. Knowing she was okay would help loosen the knot in his chest. He waited for the clock to hit 6 a.m. before he called her. She was a morning person.

“Hi, Ren.” There was a lovely cheer in her voice. “You’re up early.”

“Good morning, dear.” 

“Dear?”

“I thought I’d try something different. That a no?”

“It’s a ‘don’t say that in front of Kasumi.’” Ren laughed at Sumire’s embarrassment. 

“No promises.” He paused. “Hey, can I see you before school? I had a nightmare and I just need to see you in person.”

“I’ll meet you at the station.”

“Thank you, dear.”

“I think that’ll stick.”

===

Goro found himself walking down a hallway he didn’t recognize but something felt wrong. He continued down the narrow grey walkway he assumed was in a basement. There were no windows and the air felt tense and heavy. He passed an angered looking Sae Niijima. 

“Niijima-san, hello.” He bowed and she looked at him funny.

“I was able to get the Phantom Thief’s phone.” She showed him a phone that looked like Ren’s.

“Oh. Why are you telling me this?”

“I just thought you’d like to know.” She gave him an odd look and walked past.

Goro made it to a room at the end of the hall, nodded to the guard and opened the door. There sat Joker, the leader of the Phantom Thieves.

“I guess I’m here to save you?” The look Ren gave him was one of pure hatred. Goro’s heart broke at the malice in his friend’s eyes. ‘Why am I carrying a gun?’

===

Goro woke up in a cold sweat to find himself alone in his shared room. It must have been Rio’s turn to cook breakfast this morning. ‘That dream was unlike any I’d ever had.’ It felt too real. He could feel his own hatred in that dream. He felt it towards his friend, one of the most important people in his life. Had it not been for Ren’s help, Goro would still be on the streets, struggling to survive. His kindness had saved his life and gave him the purpose he’d always begged for. 

He pulled out his phone and sent Ren a message.

**GA:** Can we meet before school?

**RA:** I’m already meeting Sumire. Can it wait?

**GA:** No, it can’t. I had a weird dream.   
**RA:** bring Makoto. We’ll meet at the station.

Today was the day of an infiltration, Goro thought. They didn’t need this distraction.

===

Ren and Sumire reached Shibuya Station at about the same time and waited for Goro and Makoto. Sumire found it obvious Ren hadn’t slept well.

“Ren-senpai, what’s wrong?” The sympathy was evident on her face.

“I had a nightmare.” 

Sumire grasped his hand and interlocked her fingers with his. “Do you need me to stay with you tonight and chase the dreams away?”

“That would be wonderful, dear.” Ren sighed. “But we need to talk about the dream. Goro had one, too.”

“What were they about?” 

“I’ll share when they get here. I don’t think they were dreams. I think they actually happened.” That scared the hell out of Ren. They both dreamt of events that happened on the same night only this time, Sumire was involved. ‘Why did she collapse when I called for her?’

Goro and Makoto approached them together, holding hands in a manner similar to Ren and Sumire. They boarded the train and made their way to the diner near the school.

“Goro, I’ll have you start, because if your dream was just ‘Makoto turned into a cow who was only hungry for hamburgers’ then I’m a paranoid asshole who made everyone get up too early.” Ren’s idea of a weird dream sucked the tension away temporarily, everyone exchanging looks before giving him a questioning one. “Sorry. I didn’t get much sleep.” He rubbed his eyes. “Okay, Goro. Sorry, go ahead.”

Goro just shook his head at their leader and gave a sigh. “Right. I dreamed I was walking down a hallway. The walls were grey and windowless. I’m pretty sure it was underground.” Ren silently cursed. “Sae-san left a room at the end of the hall that was being guarded by this guy that looked like Agent Smith.” This earned Goro some weird looks. “Um, that’s from a movie Futaba recommended. It actually kind of fits your situation, Ren.” He paused for a second and got back to his story. “Sae showed me that she’d gotten your phone; I expected I was there to save you but when I entered the room, you were giving me that look you usually only save for when we’re on a mission.”

Ren knew exactly what he meant. He’d given Detective Prince Akechi many a glare in his time.

“I was carrying a gun.” Goro had taken Makoto’s hand by that point. “I think… I think I was supposed to kill you.”

Ren nodded, confirming that he was. “Yeah.” He looked to Sumire. “I should explain something to you. I don’t think I have yet.” He hesitated knowing that this could be the end of their relationship. He wouldn’t blame her for being mad at him, keeping something like this a secret. “I’m stuck in a time loop.”

“Oh.” Ren could see Sumire’s wheels turning as she mulled over what he just said. “Is that why you were sure Sakamoto-senpai was a good person?”

Ren nodded. 

“And Okumura-senpai?”

Ren nodded again.

“I suppose that makes sense why you’re so guarded around everyone else but you took to them like flies to shi-poop.” She blushed. “Sorry, I hang out with Kasumi too much.” 

“You’re not upset?” Ren had half expected her to be mad at him for keeping secrets.

“Over what? Senpai, I’m not unreasonable. How many times have you gone through this?”

“112.”

“And how many other times have you told anyone?” Ren had to think about that question. He’d only started telling people relatively recently. Futaba was who he told first. He’d told Makoto before as well. This was the first time it was fairly widely known among the Thieves.

“Not many.”

“I’ll take pride in the fact that I’m among the first people you’ve told.” Ren didn’t know why he didn’t expect this level of maturity from his girlfriend. 

That maturity faltered seconds later. Before Ren could explain to her his dream, she asked another question.

“So, how many of the Phantom Thieves have you dated?” Goro earned himself a glare from his girlfriend after a giggle escaped from him. 

“Yeah, Ren.” Makoto’s glare turned on him. “How many of us  _ have _ you dated?”

‘Is it warm in here? I think it’s really hot in here. I should go outside.’ “Erm, well, look at the time. We should really get heading to cla-” Ren had started to get up but Makoto was faster, crossing the table and grabbing him by the ear. 

“How about no. How about we have a little discussion?”

Sumire was secretly enjoying this very much. He gave his girlfriend a pleading look but she only gave him a polite smile. “I’m interested in hearing your answers.”

‘Fine,’ Ren thought. Honesty might save him. He never considered himself a manwhore. In fact, he stopped dating specifically because he couldn’t honor their wishes to spend forever with him.

“Well, I dated Kawakami the first several times through.” 

“Your teacher.” Makoto stated. It wasn’t a question, but it came off as one.

“Yes. My teacher.”

“I-” Her eyes got big. “You had sex with Miss Kawakami?”

Sumire giggled. This was all just too ridiculous for her. Goro had a goofy look on his face.

“Uh, in the interest of transparency, I’ve slept with everyone except Goro, Yusuke and Ryuji. Not for lack of trying, mind you.” Goro gave him an odd look.

“I don’t swing that way.”

“Sadly.”

‘Is this weird? I think I just made things weird.’

Sumire meanwhile, was eating all of this up. “Well? Who did it best!?”

“I refuse to answer that question.” Sumire was very much enjoying giving her boyfriend shit. ‘Shiho is a terrible influence.’

“That’s probably because you liked Makoto best.” 

“Not true!”

“What do you mean? What’s wrong with me?”   
“Nothing!” Goro gave him a glare. “Ah! Fuck. I never should have answered that first question.”

“You still haven’t answered this one, Senpai.” Sumire wasn’t going to let this go. 

“Well, I haven’t slept with you, yet.” Maybe throwing it back at her will get her to back down.

“I know, dear. That’s why you can answer this question honestly.” Ren’s thoughts currently consisted only of the word ‘fuck’ over and over again.

“If I’m being completely transparent? I can’t pick. And that’s not just a copout answer.”

Makoto’s gaze would have cut down most other men at this point.

“I’m being serious, alright? The reason I’ve survived this so many times is because of how amazing all the people around me are. No single woman was the same, but I don’t think I can say anyone was better than the other, in fairness.” He sighed. “I gave up dating around thirty timelines ago. This new time loop has been so different from any other, though.” He grasped Sumire’s hand. “This is the first time you’ve been in any of the loops. That’s part of why I wanted to tell you all of this.” 

Sumire’s heart melted. “Why’d you stop dating?”

“Because I couldn’t honor the commitments I was making. Hell, there was a timeline where Ann and I got  _ engaged _ . Like, I picked out a ring and everything. Then, a few timelines later she wasn’t even interested in me no matter how hard I tried. Enough had changed. I was able to-” he thought about how much he could say about Shiho. “Save somebody. Ann would always go for them, no matter what I did. And they’re both too important to me for me to truly be angry at them.”

“Ren…” Both Makoto and Sumire backed down. He was shaking like a dog left out in the rain.

“It’s fine.” Ren swore he was over all this. “It’s just… this time is different. It’s supposed to be different. If I’m going to make it out of here alive, Sumire is who I want it to be with. I don’t think I’d have ever picked anyone else if she was there.”

“We really do need to get to class, though.” Goro interrupted. “We can talk more about this later. Ren, I’m sorry. I should have stepped in.”

“You’re fine, Goro. It’s a shitshow, I’d have wanted to see the car crash, too.” Ren had calmed himself down enough to at least go to class.

Makoto and Sumire headed towards the school a bit ahead of Ren and Goro.

“So… anything I should know about Makoto?”

“This is kind of gross, bud.”

“Yeah. Answer the question, please.”

===

_ After School _

The Phantom Thieves gathered in front of the hospital in Bunkyo raring to go; Takemi had closed the clinic early for the day. Oyamada was going down.

“Let’s fucking go, kids.”

===

Oyamada’s shadow was scared shitless upon seeing just how many Phantom Thieves appeared in his treasure room.

“Do my crimes truly justify an army?” Plague was about to reply when Skull spoke.

“He’s kind of got a point, guys. There’s like, eleven of us and one of him.”

“Skull, I understand you’re trying to empathize, and that’s very admirable, but this motherfucker tried to ruin my career. Oh yeah, and he killed a child.”

“Wait! I didn’t kill anyone!” Plague gave him an almighty glare. “Well, I didn’t kill Miwa-chan. She’s alive.”

“You fucking lied?” Plague had the shadow pinned up against the wall, holding her lightsaber at his throat.

“It looks really bad on a hospital when a patient transfers. When I tried to put her in hospice, her mom pulled her out of our hospital and transferred her.” he trailed off and Plague let him go. She turned her back against him. “She’s still fighting.”

“Changing his heart would help him. I’d rather leave him to rot.” 

It would have been fairly admirable, but she hadn’t seen Oyamada’s face when she turned around. 

“She’s still fighting, just like me.”

The shadow began its transformation into a baboon, summoning with it Isis and another shadow Joker hadn’t recognized. Had Joker not reacted quickly, Plague would have eaten heavy damage from a nuclear attack that she’d be weak to.

“Plague!” He sprinted between her and the large baboon. He’d had Metatron equipped and absorbed the blow. “Thieves! Get ready!” He took his spot at the back with Ares. They’d let Death take charge in battle; there was no reason for them to jump in. Besides, they had a certain shadow they were expecting to appear. 

Plague fired an Psio at the Isis at Oracle’s behest.

“Isis is weak to psy attacks!” She’d yelled. Plague wasn’t particularly adept at psy moves but she’d had one at her disposal. She was more focused on poisons, cures and curses. 

Osiris would be trickier; Thoth had no weaknesses, they knew. Joker had used that Persona previously. Nobody had any knowledge of Osiris but Phoenix discovered quickly that he resisted physical attacks. Panther followed up, however, with an Agilao that left him burning. Queen was able to take Osiris down immediately with Freila.

Osiris and Isis were both on the ground, unable to attack, and Thoth was panicking.

“No!” 

Royal casted Revolution and Violet followed up immediately, turning Thoth’s cries to silence. He joined his teammates on the ground and the Thieves unleashed an all out attack that finished off Oyamada’s shadow and it’s cohorts.

He was finished. The shadow didn’t even grovel. They took the treasure; a vial of the Elixir of Life that they would discover later was actually some delicious bourbon. Ren and Sumire definitely didn’t discover that later on that night. Drinking illegally is bad.

They exited the palace as it collapsed. Ares was disappointed that her brother’s shadow hadn’t appeared. 

===

_ Evening _

Takemi returned to her apartment with Rio. Goro and Makoto had planned a date night, which Takemi imagined was going to be a trip to the planetarium or some place that nerds would usually go. 

“Do you believe Oyamada’s shadow?” Rio broke her out of her thoughts.

Tae nodded. “Something seemed off when he told me about Miwa-chan’s death. He’s a shitty doctor but her condition was stable enough when I was fired that she shouldn’t have been in danger.”

“Do you expect to hear from him again?”

Tae nodded. “I hope so. I never thought I’d be sitting here waiting happily for a phone call from Oyamada, of all people.”

“I’m sure it’ll work out.” Rio was at the counter preparing a meal that Tae wasn’t sure she wanted any part of but at least it wasn’t takeout for the millionth time.

“What’re you making?”

“Goro left behind a recipe for stew so we didn’t have to order out again.” She continued chopping a vegetable. ‘Daikon? Maybe.’

“He’s really turned our home into a soup kitchen,” Tae said with a laugh. “So, how do you think the rest of the Thieves celebrate a successful mission?”

“I don’t know. This is my first mission, too.” 

“Want to start our own tradition?” Tae had gotten up and went to her room but the door was open. The distance between her bedroom door and the kitchen wasn’t more than a few feet, anyway. She really needed a larger apartment. 

“Depends what that tradition is.”

Tae returned to the kitchen with a plastic bag of little green nugget looking things Rio didn’t recognize. “Well, I’m going to smoke. You’re welcome to join, or not. I won’t judge either way.”

Rio was focused on cooking but she took a few minutes to think about what Tae just offered. She was fairly sure Tae wasn’t talking about cigarettes. Marijuana wasn’t something Rio was familiar with outside of the million times she was told it would lead to an early grave at school. She was fairly certain that it was  _ that _ bad, but the innate fear was still there. ‘Tae is a doctor. A doctor wouldn’t let me do this if it was wrong, right?’

“What if I need to pass a drug test?”

“What for? I’m your boss, stupid.”

“Oh. Well, I’m out of excuses then.” She gave Tae a smile. “Let’s do it.”

Tae had already put one of the nuggets in her grinder; she turned it several times and then poured the now powdery substance onto a piece of paper and rolled it. 

“Hand me the lighter?” Rio moved into the living room and sat next to Tae on the couch. She’d grabbed the lighter off the counter.

“Alright,” Tae held the joint to Rio’s lips. “You get to go first. I’m going to light this end, and all you do is put your lips around the end and inhale, then hold it for a few seconds.” Tae lit the joint and Rio inhaled, smoke filling her lungs. It was a big inhale. She tried to hold it for longer than a few seconds but she couldn’t prevent herself from coughing up a lung.

The coughing fit lasted a minute or two. Tae took a hit of her own in the meantime, letting it settle over her. “That first time is always rough. It gets easier.”

Tae had leaned back into the couch and turned on the TV. There was an episode of Featherman on. Rio hadn’t spoken in a few minutes when she pointed at Pink Argus on the screen.

“I’m pretty sure Minato was dating her.” Tae didn’t sit up but if she wasn’t high as hell, she would have. 

“He’s 16, ain’t he?” 

Rio nodded. “Yeah.”

“And you think he was dating Yukari Takeba?”

“Iori mentioned he broke up with his girlfriend the other day and called her Yukari.” 

“That’s not that uncommon of a name, though.”

“Minako is best friends with Yukari Takeba. I’ve heard Futaba gush about it.”

“That’s surely just a coincidence.” Tae wasn’t having any of it. 

“I don’t think it is. What could a 16-year-old have that would get him a 25 year old girlfriend?” Rio didn’t understand at all. “That seems kind of fucked up, Tae.”

“I can think of one thing.” Tae hadn’t thought of that one thing in a long time. “Isn’t getting high and gossiping the best?”

Once the coughing settled, Rio couldn’t deny that this was pleasant. It was like every anxiety she’d had just disappeared, albeit temporarily. She was having as much fun picking under her fingernails, which had gotten too long again, as she’d had doing anything in forever. “It’s been pretty great.”

“Ha, knew I’d turn you into a stoner kid.” 

“My mom would fucking lose it.” Rio thought about it further. “I’d pay money to watch her lose it.”

“How about we avoid thinking about that right now.” She changed the subject abruptly. “How’s school been?”

“It’s been fine. I’m pretty sure Kasumi and Souji are boning.” Takemi would have done a spit take if she were drinking anything.

“What?”

“They sit a few seats ahead of me and I just watch them making eyes at each other instead of paying attention.”

“That sounds awkward.”

“It is.” Rio fidgeted in her seat. “I wonder if I’ll ever be like that.”

‘Oh god,’ Tae thought. ‘I’m going to have to give a teenager the talk. I went to med school, I can do this.’ “Um. Do we need to talk about the birds and the bees?” 

Rio gave her an hilarious, incredulous look. The look itself made Tae laugh. Her eyes were so bloodshot, it was surprising she could even hold her head up. “No. My mom already did that. She begged me to find someone rich.”

“Ah, so you got the same version of the talk I did.” Tae remembered specifically being told that she needed to ‘knock off the shit,’ in her mother’s words. “‘You’ll never find a nice man if you keep dressing like that.’ I got that one a lot.”

“We hadn’t hit that point yet, but I’m sure it was coming.” Rio’s head felt lighter than she was used to. “Mom wants me to be a pro athlete and a subservient housewife and I have zero clue how she thinks those two fit together.”

“Are you ever giving her another chance?”

“I’m not sure. I believe in the Phantom Thieves but I don’t trust my mom.”

===

There was a new movie out that Makoto was desperate to see and now that she finally had a boyfriend, she had someone to drag with her to see them.  _ The Last Dragon 5 _ was bound to be the best in the series, and she couldn’t wait.

Goro had different expectations for the date but realized quickly that this wasn’t going to be the kind where they snuggled and held hands. Makoto was  _ really _ into action movies. He tried to hold her hand once and she swatted it away, quickly apologizing before returning to the movie that he interrupted. She didn’t sit still the entire time, her feet bouncing up and down and her arms held in what was similar to a punching form. 

He was content to sit and watch the movie, though. It was pretty adorable how into the movie Makoto had gotten. Ren’s advice wasn’t that great anyway…

===

Sojiro had closed the cafe early, partially because Ren was having Sumire over and partially because he’d been feeling particularly off his game that day. He hadn’t had any customers since the mid afternoon anyway, so it was a good time to close.

It was an especially good time for Ren, who was able to feed his girlfriend and her bottomless stomach.

“If you’re trying to make up for this morning,” Sumire said in between bites. “It’s working.” She made a little noise that kind of sounded like she was drooling. She took another huge bite and swallowed. “This is so good. How is it so good?”

“Lots of practice.”

“Centuries of practice, Senpai.”

Ren laughed a little bit. It was funny but he was still feeling a bit raw from this morning. “I’m just glad I got all that in the open.”

“You never did tell me about your dream. We only got to hear Goro’s side of it.”

Ren sighed and decided he couldn’t hold it back from her. He started off by explaining the casino heist inside Sae Niijima’s heart. “After the fight was over, I have to go on this daring escape. It’s actually awesome. I think it’s one of the few things I’ve never gotten sick of. I feel like an action hero whenever I get to do it. I won’t get to this time, though.” That was a little sad, he thought. Going out on a note like that would be incredible. “But last night, I had a dream that you showed up to help me during it. I got cornered by some guards and you appeared and took them out. You had Cendrillon with you, so you had a Persona. But when I called your name, you collapsed.” Ren thought for another second. “I had another dream before. This was a long time ago. We were at the batting cages. I was calling you Kasumi. But it’s like I wasn’t me, and you weren’t you.”

Sumire gave him a questioning look. “What do you mean?”

“It was definitely you. I can tell the difference between you two pretty easily and I’d have recognized your eyes anywhere. But you were calling yourself Kasumi.”

“Why would I be doing that?”

“I don’t know, dear.”

This didn’t seem to be bothering Sumire nearly as much as it was bothering Ren. Perhaps she didn’t know better than to expect these kinds of things to become problems. They remained silent for a bit when Ren’s phone rang.

_ “This Ren Amamiya?” _

“That depends on who’s asking.”

_ “This is Mitsuru Kirijo. Do you have a minute?” _

Ren looked at the red head still dining on his curry at the bar. “You’ve got about three minutes before my girlfriend runs out of food.”

_ “Funny. I can see why Minako likes you.” _

“We like her, too. Can we keep her?”

_ “You’re not that funny. We’re planning an excursion into the Metaverse and we’re relying on the Phantom Thieves for help. Are you in?” _

“Is it Maruki?”

_ “Yes. We’ve reason to believe he’s become a problem that needs solving.” _

“Maybe we’re more alike than I thought. I’m in.” He paused. “Just letting you know, we’ve got a prior commitment that we really can’t miss out on. Like the literal universe will cave in if we don’t follow through with it.”

_ “I can’t tell if you’re being serious.” _

“Serious as a fart attack.”

_ “You’re fast approaching Teddie levels.” _

“I don’t know what a Teddie is but it sounds annoying.”

_ “Extremely annoying.” _ Ren could hear a shrill voice shout in the background.  _ “Mitsu-chan, you’re so mean!” _

“Was that Teddie?”

_ “You can keep Minako if you take Teddie.” _

“Why do I feel like that’s unfair?”

_ “Ugh. You’ve no idea. Regardless, infiltration starts next Friday, if you can be there.” _

“We’ll be there.”

They said their goodbyes and hung up.

“Senpai, who was that?” Sumire had finished her food and started cleaning up herself. Ren felt bad. He usually preferred to do the dishes if he did the cooking.

“Kirijo. She’s got a job for us, apparently.”

“Oh! I’ve got to thank her for sending us Coach!” 

He and Sumire finished cleaning up and she went upstairs first to change into her pajamas. She sent Ren a text when it was okay for him to come up. She would come back down and Ren would get changed. It was a simple system that worked out fairly well.

The two were finally changed into their pajamas and it had gotten fairly late. Ren had offered to sleep on the sofa but Sumire wouldn’t let him.

“You don’t get to have a breakdown like you did this morning and think you get to avoid cuddles.” For such a cute sentence, she had a very strict tone of voice and a stern look on her face. Ren feigned annoyance.

“ _ Fine _ . If you insist.” She was already in his bed, wearing a pair of short shorts and one of his t-shirts. She giggled as he got in. It probably would have been a fun night, had he not fallen asleep within seconds of his head hitting the pillow. 

Sumire found his snores entertaining, so she played on her phone for an hour or two before crashing, herself.

Ren had fallen asleep at 8:23 p.m.

===

_ Sunday, May 29th, Afternoon _

“Does it feel like we’re being followed?” Ann and Shiho had traveled to a park to spend the day together; Inokashira Park had a nice lake they could walk around but they suddenly weren’t feeling safe. Ann had noticed a tall, blue-haired shadow walking behind them.

“You mean that really tall guy?” Shiho started to turn around but Ann stopped her.

“Don’t look!” 

Shiho looked anyway. “Holy shit. He’s really tall.” She looked closer and saw someone else with him. “Hey! He’s with Mishima!” Shiho started walking back the other direction faster than Ann could keep up with. “Yuuki!”

She didn’t recognize the guy Yuuki was with but she imagined anyone hanging out with him to be harmless. Mishima is the same kid who transferred out because he was terrified of Makoto. He wasn’t about to go around socializing with dangerous people. 

Yuuki looked up and gave a friendly smile when he saw Shiho and Ann making their way towards him. He had a huge camera around his neck and his friend had a sketch book. He was drawing the lake and Ann felt a bit guilty for thinking he was stalking them.

“Suzui! It’s nice to see you.” He bowed.

“You’re still a fucking dork.” Shiho laughed and gave him a hug. “Just because I haven’t seen you in months doesn’t mean we aren’t still friends.” 

“Of course, Shiho.” He turned to Ann. “Takamaki, it’s good to see you again.” Then he turned to his friend. “This is Yusuke Kitagawa, one of my classmates at Kosei.”

Shiho hadn’t realized how tall he was til they got up close and he had an incredibly deep voice, as though it were put on for show. 

“I’m pleased to make your acquaintance.” He was a proper speaker, from what she could tell. She’d have to give Ann hell later for thinking this guy, of all people, was a predator. “If I can ask a question,” Shiho nodded. “I’m pretty sure you two have been the subject of one of my drawings.”

Ann took a second to think about it. “Oh! You mean the drawing Futaba had done?”

Yusuke nodded. “I started taking commissions and it’s really taken off.” He looked over to Shiho. “Would you two like to be the subjects of a live painting? There’s an energy my drawing lacked that I can feel radiating from you.”

Yuuki interrupted. “He’s not a perv. This is how his brain works.” Shiho laughed.

“If we have time and Yuuki says it’s okay, we’ll do it.” Ann nodded. Live modeling would be good for her career anyway. The ability to branch out was important. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back on the plot train! I realized I spread events out way too much. I like to think from here on out my pacing will be much better, but I'm not promising anything.
> 
> I like writing fluff anyway. The next few chapters will cover a week and a half or so of events. 
> 
> Also? I just passed 130,000 words on a story. Regardless of it's quality, that's a big step forward for me. Any foray I've taken into fiction usually stops around 8k-10k words. I'm pretty proud of myself. 
> 
> S/o to Monadoboy and Vorphik, who are very quick to let me know when I'm jumping the shark with a bad idea. Read their fics, they both have good ones.


	31. The Phantom Thieves Avoid a Piss Test

_ Sunday, May 29, Early Morning _

Sojiro planned on making the kid work this morning when he got in. He was expecting a busy Sunday morning and could really use the help keeping up on the dishes.

He’d unlocked the door and flipped the sign, calling for Ren all the while. Instead, Ren’s girlfriend answered.

Sumire bounded down the stairs; ‘must be a morning person,’ Sojiro thought. “Good morning! Ren’s still asleep.” 

“Oh. That’s unlike him.”

Sumire nodded in agreement. “He hasn’t been sleeping well. I hope you don’t mind if I stayed over.” Sojiro waved her off. “I thought maybe another heartbeat in the room would help.”

“If he’s still asleep, it must have.” Sojiro went behind the counter and started preparing the curry for the day. He really could have used the extra help.

“If you don’t mind, I could help.” Sumire offered. “I’m not a lost cause as a cook.”

“You sure? You didn’t come here to work.”

“It’s not like I have anything else to do, Boss. The reason I’m here is probably going to be asleep for another few hours.” 

“Alright then. I suppose you can cover for him.”

She gave him a broad smile and got behind the counter, taking Ren’s apron and putting it on.

“Thanks! I won’t let you down.”

The morning went off mostly without a hitch. Other than the woman who refuses to take a hint that Sojiro isn’t into her trying to make stilted conversation with Sumire about how dreamy Sojiro is, there wasn’t anything of note that occurred. Sojiro was impressed with her work ethic and almost felt bad that he wasn’t paying her. He instead offered to feed her after the morning rush ended.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that, Boss.” She took the apron off and was about to head back upstairs to wake up Ren. 

“Nonsense. I’ll feed both of you. Go wake up the kid. He’ll be happier to see you than me.”

The argument could be made that Ren had slept in far too late but Sumire was having none of it. The clock read 11 a.m. when he finally stirred awake.

“You let me sleep for  _ how _ long?”

“You were tired.” 

“I slept for  _ 15 hours! _ ” 

“You needed the rest, Senpai.”

“...Why do you smell like curry?”

“Boss needed help and I wouldn’t let him wake you up.”

Ren couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Sojiro let you work for me?”

Sumire nodded. “I think he likes me.” Sojiro did like her. They hadn’t spoken much during the time she was working but there seemed to be an unspoken respect. She was under the impression that Sojiro had an unspoken respect for all of the kids that were supposedly ‘keeping Ren out of trouble.’

“Does Sojiro know?”

“About?” Ren was still shaking off the cobwebs from his sleep. 

“The Phantom Thieves and all that.”

“He knows that we’re doing something and he knows that it’s nothing he wants to know about.” Sojiro had been explicit with both him and Wakaba that they were allowed to do whatever they wanted as long as he had no part of it, although he probably knew by now that he was one of their most important accomplices. “I think he just doesn’t want any information in case the police come by for whatever reason.”

“That’s smart.” She thought about her father and whether or not they could tell him anything. “I think it’s great he’s being supportive. My dad would probably drag me to the TV station for a segment.”

‘That’s normally Goro’s job,’ Ren joked to himself. 

Ren had eventually moved himself to the couch where Sumire was sitting so they could sit next to each other. It was peaceful for a bit but she’d planned on getting home at some point. She had some homework to do that she hadn’t brought with her. 

She couldn’t quite bring herself to leave. They’d both leaned back, with her resting her head on his shoulder. 

“Thank you.” She moved her head to give him a questioning look, then went back to resting. “For letting me sleep. And helping Sojiro.”

They sat there content for a bit when both their phones buzzed.

**AT:** I met the guy that Futaba hired to draw us

**SS:** I met him too

**AT:** Shiho was there too

**AT:** Also Yuuki was there

**SS:** He’s still scared of Makoto

**MN:** Thanks, Shiho

**SS:** You’re welcome

**GA:** Why is he scared of Makoto?

**MN:** I’m scary

**RS:** Facts

**FS:** You met Yusuke?

**RA:** Wait Yusuke?

**RA:** Kitagawa?

**AT:** Yeah. That’s him. You know him?

**RA:** I’ve been looking for him

**AT:** He a target?

**RA:** No, he’s in relation to one

**AT:** Anyway he’s going to do a live drawing of Shiho and me

**FS:** he charging?

**AT:** No, it’s for a project he’s doing

**FS:** ass. I want my money back

**RA:** Ask him about Ichiryusai Madarame plz

**SY:** Ren is very excited, you guys should see him right now

**KY:** We don’t want to hear about your sex life right now

**KY:** Although I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say we’d like to see Ren excited

**SS:** Hi, I’m a lesbian nice to meet you

**MN:** I miss not having friends

**RS:** Seconded

**MA:** God minato really needs a phone

===

_ Afternoon _

“I’m not getting a fucking phone, god!” MInato’s outburst only led to uproarious laughter from his sister. She’d said something from the other room but it would only serve to piss him off so he ignored it. It hadn’t been a fun morning. 

Every single time they’d come back from a palace, Minato felt empty. His problem wasn’t with his sister or the Phantom Thieves; despite their differences and her penchant for making fun of him constantly, he did love his sister dearly and the Thieves were great. They reminded him of being in SEES again. With every other member of SEES being an old fart, they were a proper replacement.

But why even need a replacement, Minato thought. What was the point? He missed Akihiko’s obsession with training, and Fuuka’s ridiculous gasping at every turn, and Yukari’s hilariously bad bow skills, and he was even reminiscent of all the times Mitsuru thought Marin Karin would work when she could have just used a fucking Bufula. 

Minato just wanted to know what stopped them from fighting shadows. Why was he doing this with just his sister? Why leave the Phantom Thieves out to dry?

This could all be done in the matter of a month. All Mitsuru would have to do is make the order and everyone would be there. They could even get the Inaba kids involved. They could get rid of all mystery in this stupid game Ren is stuck playing. Instead they’re letting a kid who’s been through way too much prolong his own torture.

It’s kind of like what they did to him.

He’d been trying to work on homework but obviously that wasn’t working. He was brooding again. It might’ve been 1 p.m. but for Minato, it was naptime. 

===

Yu and Chie were dragging Rise around Tokyo looking for places to purchase weapons for their first trip to fight shadows in several years.

“Why do I even have to go? I don’t even fight!” Rise had kept the hood up on the sweatshirt she’d stolen from Yu in an attempt to stay out of the limelight. It might have been old news that Rise postponed part of her upcoming tour but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t become news again if she were to be caught dawdling around Tokyo. 

“Because if we left you at home alone all you would do is pout.” Chie said. “Besides, we’ll feed you if you behave.”

“Stop treating me like a child! You two are the ones acting like children!”

“Shhh, babe. We’ll be done in a little bit.”

“Narukami, I’m planning your murder. I hope you know that.” Rise’s pout was hidden by the hood. 

They’d been at Central Street in Shibuya for a few minutes; Chie said she knew of a place in the back alley there that should have what they’re looking for but she’d never been there, personally. They took a left turn into a shady looking alley. A sharply dressed man addressed Chie as they walked by; Rise’s homely-look had worked. 

“Hey, baby, you need some work?”

“Depends on the kind of work. I’m working right now as in, if you get any closer to us I have an obligation to break your arm.”

The man recoiled and backed off. “Jeez. Bitch.” A little further down the alley they reached a dingy little shop called Untouchable. They entered and the guy behind the counter looked up, grunted a greet and went back to reading his gun magazine. 

Yu was in awe. “Are these real guns?”

“No, they’re airsoft.” Chie walked past the guns and right to the melee weapons. A pair of steel kick pads were all she needed, but she assumed Yu would go for a sword of some kind. He found himself a giant two-handed sword when the man reading the magazine got up.

“Looking for something specific?” The man had a voice like a Yakuza in an action movie. Yu noticed the gecko tattoo and had an urgent thought. ‘Holy fuck, Chie, this guy might be actual Yakuza.’

Yu tried to shake it from his voice when Rise spoke up instead. 

“He needs a reliable two-handed sword. What’s your best model? We can afford it.” She took her hood off and good lord, Yu thought, she was really turning on the charm. It was then a kid came from the back and stopped in his tracks.

“Dad!” 

“Kaoru, I thought you were cleaning?”

“That’s Risette!”

“I don’t know who that is.” The kid quickly came back from behind the counter. Yu couldn’t help but laugh at his urgency.

“I’m s-s-sorry, Risette, if my dad was being rude.” 

“Oh, no, sweetie, he was being very helpful. I appreciate you looking out, though.” She ruffled his hair. He must have been 13 or 14 years old. His face turned bright red. 

Yu decided he’d take pity on the kid and get Rise out of there as quickly as he could. “I’ll just take this one.”

“You sure, dude?” The man with the gecko tattoo asked. “I got something better in back if you can wait a second.” He gave Yu a smile that didn’t quite fit his face. Yu thought maybe he was content to let his kid suffer.

“Kaoru-kun, right?”

“Yeah, that’s my name.” He could barely get the words out.

“That’s a nice name. Are you in middle school?” He nodded. “I remember that. It was my first year out when I met this guy,” she gestured towards Yu. “Enjoy middle school while you can. Things move too fast after.”

“She ain’t lyin’, kid.” The man with the gecko tattoo returned from the back with a katana case. “I was 15 when I started making some pretty terrible decisions.” He placed the case on the counter and opened it up. “Anyway, this is the tops from what we have in stock.”

Yu examined the sword; he’d never actually paid much attention to anything about his weapons. He’d always just take the metalworker’s words for it. He didn’t say much about it to the man. ‘If you can’t trust the Yakuza, who can you trust?’ He joked to himself.

“Looks good. I’ll take it.”

They paid and started to leave.

“Bye, Kaoru-kun!” Rise’s voice was overly sweet. She pulled her hood back up and exited the store. 

===

Souji and Kasumi finally had a space to themselves, which was a dream for both of them. Alone time was rare in a residence shared with the ever-nosey Rise Kujikawa and the completely oblivious Chie Satonaka, who would yell things from across the house whenever she got bored. Souji, of course, loved his family, but man did he miss the days of just sitting there stewing in Mementos. The alone time was nice.

Kasumi, surprisingly, was similar. Having to share a room with her sister meant she never once got to just sit in a silent room and enjoy the peace and quiet. When Souji invited her over upon hearing he would be alone, she pounced on the opportunity. She had a few ideas of things they could do when they were alone. 

It was safe to say that Kasumi was extremely disappointed when her boyfriend had a completely different reason for wanting alone time with her. It was every bit as devious, Kasumi supposed, and it was definitely as fun. It was just a different kind of fun. 

Souji answered the door and let his girlfriend in, limping back to the couch, where he was icing his knee. 

Kasumi was glad that she hadn’t dressed up or anything. That would have been embarrassing. Instead, she’d worn workout clothes because she decided running there would be a better use of her time. 

“Why are you icing your knee?” It took her a few minutes to ask. Souji was a man of few words, occasionally, but the look on his face was one of embarrassment.

“So, remember that day you taught Rise how to apply the sharpshooter?” 

Kasumi met his question with a giggle. “Don’t tell me…”

“I mouthed off and threw a pillow at her so she put me in the sharpshooter. She isn’t as good at knowing when to let go as you are.”

She then had a completely unstoppable fit of laughter overcome her. “Ha-snrk.” She didn’t even know what that noise was. It was something of a snort. “Ha! Baha! Hahahahaha!” The laughter continued for another full minute. It finally slowed down to the point where she was done laughing, but she still had a big grin on her face.

“Are you done?” Souji spoke with a loaded tone.

“I’m do-” Kasumi broke into another fit of laughter. “It’s just so fucking ridiculous.” She took another second to calm down. “Okay. I’m done now. Sorry.”

Souji gave her an irritated look but the anger didn’t reach his eyes. “I need you to teach me a counter.”

“For the sharpshooter?” Souji nodded. “Alright.”

So that’s how Kasumi and Souji spent their alone time. They watched some gaijin named Owen Hart escape from the move made famous by his brother Bret. It made no sense to Souji. Whatever sport they were participating in looked horribly telegraphed and in no way did it feel any better than a bad Featherman fight scene, but by the end, he was completely hooked. 

He looked up Owen Hart’s name on a search engine later, and had a very sad night. 

===

_ Evening _

**RA:** We’re helping Kirijo with a mission on Saturday. Clear the sched

**MN:** Don’t we all have to agree?

**RA:** Want to take down Maruki?

**MN:** oh. Yeah.

**RS:** Idk who that is but sure

**MN:** He’s the guy that was doing the shutdowns

**RS:** oh dope

**KY:** Sumire and I are in

**KY:** shes too busy trying to find the right pose to send Ren

**SY:** THAT IS NOT TRUE

**KY:** sure sis. Thats like ur 10th pic

**SY:** I apologize for my sister.

**GA:** I’m in.

**TT:** idk what any of this means. But does Kirijo drug test

**RF:** oh shit

**RA:** what the fuck

**SS:** Rio did drugs

**AT:** Shiho, don’t throw accusations like that out there

**RF:** I did drugs it’s fine

**TT:** I made her do it

**RF:** not exactly true

**RA:** I don’t think any of us will get piss tested.

Ren thought for a minute of what he knew of the rest of Kirijo’s people.

**RA:** I hope not, at least.

Ren sent another text to another number.

**RA:** Does Kirijo drug test before you can work there?

**NS:** WHY

**RA:** We’re helping with a palace next weekend.

**NS:** WHY DO U NEED TO KNOW

**RA:** a friend is asking

**NS:** UR FINE. IF KANJI HAS A JOB ULL BE OK

**RA:** thanks, naoto

===

Naoto’s life had been a living hell the last few weeks. They’d taken away her main ally at the SIU by cutting Sae’s hours drastically and she’d been getting harassed by the interim director about progress on Shido’s murder case. 

That wasn’t what was bothering her at this time. There was another case that had been brought up to her by Sae in one of their most recent meetings. She was actually currently on her way to meet Sae and her father right now. She’d gotten out of her car and approached the fairly upscale apartment building the Niijima’s lived in. It was probably the perfect size for Makoto and Sae, Naoto thought, but she imagined it getting quite cramped now that their parents were back. She didn’t expect this to be a pleasant conversation.

She’d knocked on the door and Makoto answered within seconds. Sae was already sitting at the kitchen table with her mother and father. Contrary to what Naoto expected, the former Officer Niijima looked to be in high spirits. 

“Shirogane, it’s wonderful to meet you!” He got up from the table and greeted her with a handshake. It was unusual, Naoto thought, to be greeted as an equal by a police officer. To them, she was usually just the meddlesome Detective Prince.

“It’s nice to meet you, sir.”

“No need for all that. Just call me Takeo. I left the force a long time ago.” She thought she saw sadness in his eyes but he gave a polite smile and gestured to his wife. “This is my wife, Ari. Now, Sae said there’s a case you’re looking into. I actually remember this one.”

Naoto joined them at the table; Makoto stayed sitting on the couch but was within an earshot. “Aiyumi Nakagawa. Do you know anything about her suicide?”

His face didn’t quite fall but she could tell there was recognition. “Yes. Bright girl. We rarely got a better intern.” Naoto could tell the wheels were turning. “What happened to her was a shame.”

“I’ll cut to it because it seems like you know something. Do you think she committed suicide?”

He shook his head. “Two bullets to the back of the head? No. I don’t.” He was frowning. “I wasn’t allowed to look into the case. I’d reported those officers they were assigned to work with a dozen times.” He sighed. “I was moved to another beat after that case.”

“They were afraid you’d look into it?”

“The beat I got moved to is the one that got me killed.” He looked like he was about to retreat into his room when his wife spoke up.

“What did we say, Takeo?” Her voice was stern, like Sae’s. 

“I must face myself and the truth, dear.” He repeated it like he’d been forced to say it a million times. “There was something more going on in the force at around that time.”

“Like what?”

“It was what, three years ago?” Sae confirmed that fact. “The rumor that went around is the police were responsible for the mental shutdowns. Not doing it themselves, but they were helping give orders to the guy that was doing it. I’m sure you know this, but I was one of his victims.”

“What do you mean?”

“He didn’t actually kill me. It’s weird. It’s like I was in this dream scenario.” His wife grabbed his hand. “I had my wife back. My two girls were always little. We were always happy. Nothing ever changed and they never grew up. I watched the two of them play cops and robbers and Buchi-kun all day and it was the happiest I’d ever been. I eventually got numb to the happiness but I started accepting that it was all I’d ever have.”

“That must be difficult to come back from.” Naoto had never heard of a case like this. 

“It is. I’m still not doing well. But I’m so proud of my girls. I’m sure me being here is a pain in the butt.”

Sae laughed. “Dad, we’re old. You can swear now.”

“What happened with Aiyumi?”

“Sae had told me what her friend said. It’s pretty much exactly right.” He sighed. “They’d hit on all of the new women that came in. They’d lobby to get any new intern and try to tear her down immediately. Cat calling, slapping her butt, all that stuff. The sexual harassment stuff we all had to watch videos about telling us not to do it.” He started chewing on his lip. “I didn’t know it had gotten as far as rape until the day Aiyumi died.”

His wife spoke up. “He tried to quit that day.” It was unnerving for Naoto that this woman was the product of a cognition. There was no distinction between her and an actual human. “I remember that much. We’d sent the girls to a babysitter. We both sat here and just cried.”

“You couldn’t do anything.” It was a statement framed as a question from Naoto.

“I wouldn’t let him,” Ari said. “We had two young girls and we couldn’t afford to have him be unemployed.” 

Naoto nodded in understanding. “True justice comes at a cost we can’t always afford.”

“Had I known what I would uncover with Kaneshiro, I’d have paid that cost.” Takeo gave him a hard look. “If you need a case, that’s a good place to start searching. Things are too chaotic at the station for anyone to stop you right now.” 

“How do you know?”

“Between Sae and my old partner, I’m more connected in that place than I was when I worked there,” Takeo said. “Hopefully, I can return once all this settles down.”

Ari gave him a look like she thought that was a terrible idea but said nothing.

“Hey, that pension isn’t going to collect itself!” He gave a laugh that signified his joke was hilarious, although nobody else quite caught on.

===

_ Monday, May 30, After School _

“So, Hiraguchi is coming back tomorrow.” Minako said with a hint of sadness in her voice but a smile on her face. “Thus ends my tenure as the best gymnastics coach ever.”

Kasumi coughed. “You cancelled more than half of our practices.”

“Do you feel unprepared?” Minako quirked an eyebrow.

“No, but imagine how much better prepared we’d be if we had all those practices.”

“Sis, be nice to Ares.”

Minako’s heart leapt at the use of her codename. “Aw! Right! This isn’t goodbye.” She had a huge grin on her face. “We’re coworkers now!” She pulled the twins in for a great big hug. “Hey, does this mean you guys can come hang out with me and Yukari?”

“Like we weren’t already hanging out with you way too much, Coach,” Kasumi quipped.

“Too much, or not enough? I like Coach.” Sumire wouldn’t have minded spending more time around Coach.

“That’s fair. I’ve not been bored once since you got here.” 

“I’ll get Kasumi to stop being so surly one day.” Minako flicked Kasumi on the nose while saying that.

===

“Aha! It’s brilliant!” Yusuke had struck inspiration within a few minutes of Ann and Shiho gracing his ‘studio,’ if it could be called that. It was an empty apartment in a run down building that left the two girls feeling a bit uncomfortable. Yuuki had accompanied to try and make them as comfortable as possible. 

Posing came a little more easily to Ann, who was used to having to hold strange positions for long periods of time but Shiho was having none of it. She had too much energy as it was and between fighting shadows and volleyball, she was in the best shape of her life. She’d never have this much energy again, she thought.

“Shiho, you need to sit still,” Ann ordered. The two were sitting in a couple of old kitchen chairs set so they could lean against each other while holding hands. It was a really cute pose that Ann was getting annoyed with Shiho for messing up. 

“I can’t help it, Ann. How do you sit still for so long?” 

“I’m an adult, Shiho. That’s how I do it. I get told I’m going to do a job, so I do the job, and leave.”

Shiho let out an “ugh.” 

“I’ll tell you what, I’ll...” Ann leaned over and whispered in her ear something nobody else in the room could hear. Shiho’s face turned bright red and she mouthed ‘really?’ Ann returned a sly look and said “if you behave.” Shiho was on her best behavior after that.

Yuuki laughed at the exchange but Yusuke was too absorbed into his painting to comment.

“Don’t mind Yusuke, he probably won’t even notice you moving.”

“Thanks, Yuuki. How’s life been since you moved?” Shiho’s left leg was bouncing.

“It’s been great, actually.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m glad Niijima scared me off.”

“She feels really bad for that, by the way.” Ann had heard Makoto talk about it previously. Her intention wasn’t to invoke fear.

“Oh, she’s apologized a million times. But Kosei is great. I’ve really gotten into my photography. It turns out Tokyo is one of the world’s hubs for street art and it makes my photography really pop. Speaking of…” He looked around the rustic room they were in. The floorboards were creaky and loose and the light only barely made it through the windows enough that it gave the room a bluish hue. “Think I could get a few shots?”

“I don’t mind, do you Shiho?”

Shiho didn’t have a problem with it.

The session ended a bit later; Yusuke had made enough progress on his art that he no longer needed the live models. 

“Yusuke, really quick, because I forgot to ask.” Ann paused. “Do you know anything about Madarame?”

“He’s a scourge on the art community and his existence causes me an immense amount of pain,” Yusuke said in a dramatic tone, although Ann was unsure if he was capable of speaking in a tone that wasn’t dramatic.

“Ah. My friend thought you’d say that. Would you care to meet Ren? He’s got something you might be able to help him with.”

“Is it art related?” Yusuke asked this excitedly.

“It probably could be,” Shiho said. “Everyone seems to think he’s beautiful.” Ann smacked the back of her head. “What!? I had to listen to you and Rio talk about his ass a whole fucking trip, you bet your sweet ass I’m busting your balls for it.”

“If he hates Madarame as much as I do, I suppose I should bring my mother as well. Where shall we meet?”

“LeBlanc Cafe in Yongen-Jaya. After school tomorrow work?”

Yusuke nodded and added the date to his calendar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to watch Bret vs. Owen in a steel cage at Wrestlemania and got really sad, which is why it earned a mention in this fic. 
> 
> Yusuke and Mishima is a fun odd pairing I thought of the second I came up with the idea that Mishima had transferred. It'll be a fun unusual friendship to write. 
> 
> Rise bonding with Kaoru is another goofy element to the story because honestly, more Kaoru and Iwai has never made a fic worse. Plus, Rise trying her hardest to be mature while Yu and Chie are acting like impulsive kids is great. My inspiration for that came from the easter egg in the game where they talk about Rise's new album, which is supposedly her trying to be more mature.
> 
> Remember like 15 chapters ago when I said I was about to Madarame? The next chapter is Madarame. I guarantee it. It's already written and done. It'll be posted sometime this weekend.


	32. Covered Tracks

_ Tuesday, May 31st, After School _

“Oh my. This place is marvelous!” 

Ren heard the voice and immediately knew Yusuke had made his entrance. He wished he’d seen Sojiro’s reaction: Boss’s first interactions with Yusuke were almost always high comedy. Instead, he removed himself from the dishes he’d been placed in charge of to greet his new-but-old friend. 

Multiple new-but-old friends, in fact. Ren was expecting to see Mishima sometime soon after the text message yesterday but he didn’t expect him to be accompanying Yusuke. It was quite the odd pairing but upon second thought, it made sense. Yuuki had always been more adept at creative endeavors like web design; that surely would involve artistic skill that Ren had never really asked about. Plus, Yuuki had an extreme tolerance for bullshit.

Ren would know. He’d given Yuuki a  _ lot _ of bullshit to deal with through most of the timelines. It was probably an unknown relief for Yuuki to be at a different school. Although, Ren supposed it’d been a good fifty years since he had really gone in on Mishima for leaking his record. Plus, this Mishima had never even met Ren. It would be good to have a new start and maybe actually get to know him. 

He heard Sojiro thank the kid for complimenting the place. “Can I get you anything?”

“Oh, we’re here to see somebody.” It was Mishima that spoke. “Amamiya”

“Right. That makes sense. He’s in back cleaning up. I’ll send him out.” Sojiro shouted back. “Kid! You’ve got company.”

Ren appeared around the bar and greeted the two. “Hi. I’m Ren Amamiya. Just Ren is fine.” 

Yuuki greeted back first. “I’m Yuuki Mishima. I’m friends with Suzui-chan.” He bowed. “This is Yusuke Kitagawa.”

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Yusuke said. Ren forgot just how, um, much, Yusuke could be when they first met.

“I suppose we should go upstairs. We have some things to discuss.” Ren led the way up the stairs. He’d had some chairs set up around the table he’d use for Phantom Thieves meetings. It hadn’t gotten much use lately, though, so it was covered in dust. It took up too much room and the Phantom Thieves were already struggling for space to meet. The three took their seats. “I’d mentioned this to Ann when she told me they were meeting with you. What do you know about Madarame?” Ren was sure he already knew most of the story but he needed to hear it again, just in case anything had changed. This time last loop he hadn’t even met half the people that he was interacting with. There was no reason Madarame couldn’t be a completely different person.

“He’s a blight on the art world.” Yusuke’s tone darkened. “He plagiarizes from young artists and hides behind a combination of lawyers and Yakuza connections in order to avoid being held accountable.”

It was a very succinct explanation of things Ren kind of already knew.

“We have been fighting for years to get my mother credited for her most prized piece.”

“We?” Ren inquired.

“My mother and I. The day she had shown him the Sayuri, she suffered a seizure. She’s an epilectic, you see, so it’s something that’s always in the back of our minds.” He sighed. “Instead of calling emergency services, he left us high and dry. I was but a child, but I knew to call 1-1-9.”

‘Okay. So, I didn’t expect his mother to be alive.’ “She survived?”

Yusuke nodded. “Barely. She’s now confined to a wheelchair and incapable of holding her hands steady enough to paint.”

“That’s unforgivable.” Ren used Yusuke’s own words from a past life.

“It truly is. It is my wish to get revenge for my mother and allow her to finally get credit for her masterpiece. She would have been here today but sadly, as the weather warms she becomes more sensitive to the sun. Once summer comes, she’s stuck indoors most days.”

Ren didn’t know much of her condition, and he didn’t know what to reply with. He only apologized, then moved on to other business.

“Do you know of Natsuhiko Nakanohara?”

Yusuke nodded. “He’s a former pupil of Madarame. He reached out a few weeks ago to let us know of Madarame’s plot. I believe he did not know my mother and his former master were lovers.”

“Why be so open about this?”

“My mother believes Madarame’s good luck has come to an end.” He paused and looked around the room, like he was checking for eavesdroppers. “She knew of his connection to Masayoshi Shido. With Shido away from the picture, Madarame may not be nearly as well protected.”

Ren silently thanked Minato’s shadow for that. That really worked out for the best. “Do you guys have a plan to go after him?”

“No, we do not.” He shook his head. “I’m getting fairly desperate. Mother seems to think we should keep waiting.”

“What about you?” Ren looked at Mishima.    
“I have an idea but Yusuke thinks it’s stupid.” Yuuki looked like the sad kid Ren remembered, just a little. Ren was taken aback by how upbeat Mishima was when he first walked in.

“Yuuki seems to think the Phantom Thieves could take care of the problem.” Yusuke scoffed. “I’ve yet to see any proof of their justice, as fantastic as it may seem.”

“I think Yuuki’s on the right track.” Ren said. “I’ve seen their justice firsthand.”

“Right. You’re a Shujin student. That makes sense.” Yusuke said. “Have you any relation to the Kamoshida case?”

Ren nodded. “He assaulted me the day before his change of heart.” He swelled with pride. Punching Kamoshida was great. “Actually, he attempted to assault me.”

“Oh.” Ren could see Yusuke’s wheels turning. “Then it would make sense that you are the Phantom Thief.”

‘I hadn’t expected Yusuke of all people to figure it out that quickly. Caution to the wind?

…..

Caution to the wind.’ Ren nodded. “I figured it would be a bit obvious given all the questions.” Ren was lying. “Would you like some proof? I can show you our methods.” Yusuke would probably end up joining anyway. Might as well let Mishima come, too. He’d figure it out. He was annoying, not stupid. Plus, he wanted the manpower. Literally. 

“I would very much like that. If I can aid in your fight against that scoundrel in any way, I will.”

“You know where Madarame lives?”

Yusuke nodded and led the way to the newly reopened station.

===

They arrived in front of Madarame’s atelier, the home as run down as ever.

“This is the place.”

Ren nodded and pulled out his phone. “You guys ready? You’re being sworn to secrecy. If you tell anyone, I’ll kill you.”

“Really?” Yuuki’s face went white.

“No. But I’d still appreciate you not telling anyone.”

===

Getting Yusuke to awaken to his Persona was as easy as him seeing Madarame’s palace.

“What… what is this travesty?”

That’s about all Ren remembered. He was so outraged by the gaudy design that Goemon just came right now. Nobody even prodded. 

The gold museum  _ was _ gaudy, Ren thought. He just didn’t think it was tacky enough to induce such rage. They continued on towards their usual entrance, off the top of a semi trailer and over an equally terribly designed gold wall. The three crossed the platforms and entered into the skylight, Ren impressed with the Persona-less Mishima’s athleticism. Apparently he was a pretty good athlete when he wasn’t having the shit kicked out of him at every turn. 

“You’re telling me this is all inside his heart?” Mishima walked around the area housing the first set of displays. 

“Yeah. All these portraits?” He gestured around the room. “These are the students he stole from.”

“That’s terrible.” Mishima had clenched his fists. They hadn’t been anywhere where they’d have shadows to fight yet. “Yusuke. I knew it was bad when you told me. But this…”

Yusuke had been trying to get used to his new outfit. It was rather strange, he thought. Nothing like what he expected his will of rebellion would look like. “And he just gets away with it.”

They’d wander forward further towards a room full of red lasers they couldn’t walk through. Joker and Yusuke took out a shadow fairly quickly. Metatron made short work of such weak shadows and Yusuke was able to finish them off with a melee attack. They went through this same song and dance until they reached the middle room where Madarame’s ridiculous prosperity sculpture was the centerpiece.

‘Here it comes,’ Ren thought. This was dangerous. He knew Yusuke had a Persona, but if Mishima was going to awake, being taunted by Madarame would do it.

Madarame’s shadow appeared right on time, gold robed, white faced with a ridiculous haircut that made him look like Alolan Exeggutor. He recognized Yusuke immediately.

“Yusuke, my boy, give your mother my regards.” His grin was predatory, not friendly. “Without her, none of this would be possible.” He gestured around the room. “Manami means a lot to me, you know.”

“That’s why you left her to die, right?” Yusuke barked back. Ren wasn’t used to hearing his voice utilize such a tone. It was angry and terse.

“She was ill, Yusuke.” Madarame’s facial expression was one of nonchalance. “Even now, she only eats the food you provide while giving nothing back.” 

Yusuke slashed his sword at Madarame only to be intercepted by one of the guards, who shoved him back, into Mishima. 

“You despica-”

“Now Yusuke, it was nice to catch up with you but if you don’t plan on leaving quietly I have no issue dispatching of you and your friends here.” The guards took a stance, liquifying and reappearing as their monster forms between the three.

One guard turned into Shiki-Ouji. ‘That’s trouble,’ Ren thought. The other was Ippon-Dotara, an annoying but not unbeatable shadow. Madarame, meanwhile, turned tail and hid.

“Yuuki, get back.” Ren ordered. Mishima backed off toward the doorway.

Yusuke got into a ready stance and prepared to fight alongside Joker. “I’m ready.”

Ren fired off a warning shot at Ippon-Dotara, doing solid damage. “Yusuke, you shouldn’t be weak to either of these. They’re both physical attackers.”

“Got it, Ren.”

The two went to work on the bulky-but-not-unbeatable shadows while Mishima watched from behind.

He should have been focusing more on his own issues. Two shadows had spawned behind him; one had spotted him and went on the attack, bashing him over the head with a nightstick. By the time he realized what had happened, the shadow, who hadn’t yet changed forms, had him by the neck, holding him hostage. It shouted at his friends.

“I’ve got your friend here. How about you two leave forever, and he doesn’t get hurt.”

“And if we want to bring him with us?”

“Oh no, he stays. He can find himself up on the wall, just like everyone will, eventually.”

For Yuuki, this was just another day in his life. He was a perpetual victim, constantly finding himself in harm’s way at the hands of someone braver and stronger than he. Kamoshida was the most notable, but it wasn’t him first. Before that, it was one of the third-year’s on the volleyball team. Before that, it was a litany of middle school bullies that took turns making his life miserable. Now? It was a shadow, one that wasn’t even it’s own master. It was just following orders. Following orders in the way Mishima had found himself doing.

**“Leaving behind victimhood is no easy path.”** A voice spoke inside Mishima’s head.  **“It is not always our choice that forces us to leave it behind. Sometimes,”** a dramatic pause,  **“It is a matter of fate. Others, it’s a choice foisted upon us.”**

The shadow was holding a knife at Mishima’s throat now. Ren and Yusuke could do nothing.

**“As it was for me, my friends were those making the dangerous choice. It became up to me: Do I join them on the trail to our nation’s destruction? Or do I remain quiet?”**

Yuuki couldn’t bring himself to respond. 

**“My choice was not the one I anticipate you making. I chose to remain quiet yet I remain persecuted. As ever, I was the perpetual victim. Victimhood was ripped away from me on trial, as yours shall be.”**

“I am thou. Give me your power!” Yuuki shouted as loud as he could. The shadow holding the knife backed off, the knife slipping out of his hands and down Yuuki’s torso, sticking into the ground, leaving him unharmed.

**“Yes! The correct choice! Thou truly art I!”**

“Proteus!” A large Persona appeared behind him, a humanoid robot with a keyboard for a chest and a shiny metal cranium. To Ren, it looked to be part man, part machine, but to Yuuki, it was all his. “Freila!” A blue light shot out from the robot and towards Shiki-Ouji, downing it immediately. Ren fired his gun once more into the skull of Ippon-Dotara, dissolving the shadow.

They disposed of the other shadows easily, and exited the palace. Ren’s job for the day was done. 

===

Ren took the two back to LeBlanc and fed them upon their return to the real world. The two exhausted, newly-awakened Persona users were grateful for the meal, Yusuke especially, who Ren had learned was taking commissions online with Yuuki’s help in order to support him and his mother.

===

**RA:** we’ve got two new members

**MN:** we already have 11 people

**GA:** what’s two more?

**RA:** That’s the spirit.

**SS:** Who?

**RA:** Yusuke and Yuuki

**SS:** WOO!

**AT:** Shiho, I have neighbors

**SS:** sorry

**FS:** idk who either of those people are

**FS:** shouldn’t there be some kind of vote

**RA:** fine, Futaba. We’ll take a vote

**FS:** ok im in favor

**RS:** are u just trying to be a pain

**FS:** yes

**TT:** frankly im just glad to no longer be low on the totem pole

**RF:** when do we meet the new guys?

**RA:** U guys are off volleyball right?

**SS:** yup.

**RA:** Thursday? Sumire’s got gymnastics tomorrow

**KY:** what am I, chopped liver?

**RA:** you’re in horny jail

**SY:** bonk

===

_ Wednesday, June 1, After School _

Today would be Minako’s last day as the girls’ gymnastics coach but it helped that she no longer had to say goodbye. She just had to say goodbye to the long practices that she cancelled more than half the time anyway, not that anyone planned on telling Hiraguchi that. Sumire and Kasumi were in good enough shape for their next meet that nobody would even notice; in fact, Minako assumed that they were better off now than they were when she got there.

‘That’s because I’m the best coach,’ she thought, but she knew from her own personal experiences that fighting in the Metaverse was the best training for pretty much everything. The girls were good about incorporating their gymnastics into their fighting, too, so it wasn’t like they’d get rusty.

The twins wouldn’t be at the gym for another 15 minutes or so but Minako got there early to say high to Marina. They’d only met twice before while the coach was scrambling to make last second arrangements so she could aid a friend in a long move. 

Coach Hiraguchi was sitting at a desk in an office Minako hadn’t even thought to go into the entire time she was coaching. ‘I wonder if she’d left me a note or something?’ Minako knocked on the door and greeted the returning coach.

“Coach Hiraguchi, how’s being back?”

The coach looked up from some paperwork. “Stressful.” She wasn’t the smiling type, from what Minako could tell. “But it’s better than piling boxes into an apartment.”

“I can relate.” Minako was a light packer; she didn’t have many possessions and she nearly always wore the same outfits daily. Jeans and a t-shirt or a blouse and skirt were her only outfits, of which she had two sets of each. She owned more workout clothes than regular clothes. Yukari, on the other hand, nearly required an 18-wheeler to move her stuff in and they were only living in that apartment temporarily. “I recently went through a move. My roommate is a packrat.”

Hiraguchi gave a small chuckle. “Me too. It’s all those trophies I need to pack that really makes it difficult.”

“Odd flex, but okay.” Hiraguchi shot Minako an intimidating look. ‘I really shouldn’t mess with this woman. She’s terrifying.’ It was more than just Hiraguchi’s uncommon musculature for a woman, but her attitude purveyed a sense that could snap Minako like a twig. It wasn’t that she  _ would _ do such a thing. It was just that she could if she wanted to. 

It was getting closer to the time the twins were supposed to show up so Hiraguchi got up from her chair.

“You’re welcome to stay for practice, if you’d like.” Okay, Minako thought. Maybe she only smiles when it has to do with gymnastics.

Minako didn’t doubt she’d have any trouble keeping up. She’d yet to really let loose in the Metaverse ever since they started fighting again. Ren talked to her, and she agreed, about letting the new people fight so they had the experience and they’d know what to do in a more intense situation.

Hiraguchi, however, expected to run Minako out of the gym.

She was sorely disappointed when that didn’t happen. ‘I think I picked my own substitute too well.’ The twins had shown up ready to go in better shape than she’d expected. They zoomed through the calisthenics she normally started them with and finished their pre-practice run two minutes faster than she’d ever recorded. Minako, of course, led the pack by a good 30 feet. The routines the twins were supposed to be working on were a bit basic but their execution was perfect; she expected Kasumi to keep up her improvement but Sumire had finally caught up. She was sticking landings Hiraguchi would have struggled with when she was at the top of her game.

The twins were practicing their routines when Hiraguchi approached Minako, who was looking on with pride.

“Okay, what’s your secret?” The question came out as hostile but Hiraguchi hadn’t meant it to.

“What do you mean? I did the job you brought me here for.”

“They’re both faster than they were when I left by a good bit.” ‘Shouldn’t you be happy about that?’ “Sumire is sticking landings that I couldn’t have. Hell, her last rotation on vault was off by an insane amount. That landing should have snapped her leg.” Granted, Hiraguchi thought, Sumire had been working extremely hard to improve her leg strength. It was bound to pay off sooner or later.

“They were like this when I got here.” Minako tried to give the coach an intimidating look of her own, causing the coach to crack.

“Okay, never look at me like that again. It doesn’t fit you.” An actual, genuine smile came from Hiraguchi. “I actually need to know what you did, though.”

“You get as competitive as the girls do, don’t you?” Hiraguchi nodded. “Well, they had to get it from somewhere, I guess. They nearly murdered each other the first time-” Minako paused, realizing she almost talked about the Metaverse- “the first time Sumire had a landing like that. Kasumi has pushed herself even harder since then.”

It made sense to Hiraguchi; Kasumi was always pushed forward by competition but finding that drive for Sumire had been impossible. She was more studious and her prep work was better. She ate right and she never cut corners in workouts, but she didn’t have the competitive drive her sister had. 

“Sumire does have an edge she didn’t have before. Where’d that come from?”

“She tripped and nearly decapitated a boy.” Hiraguchi was taking a drink when Minako said that; instead of a spit take, she swallowed harder than was necessary in an attempt to not dress Minako in her saliva. Minako laughed at her. “I haven’t gotten the whole story from her, but the guy she’s been seeing happened to be a friend of my little brother’s.” Not a lie, although nobody would believe her brother’s story anyway.

“So, she found a boyfriend and now she’s more competitive?” Minako gave her a thoughtful look.

“There’s more to it than that. I think Kasumi stole a guy Sumire was into.” Minako laughed. “That happened to me with my brother once.” She recalled how she overreacted when she found out Minato was dating Yukari. ‘Hmm. Yukari is single again…’ She realized she took an awkward pause. “Sorry, monkey brain got me. I don’t think about people like that anymore, usually.”

Hiraguchi laughed. “I get that feeling.” She sighed. “We should wrap practice up.”

Minako had started to make her way towards the locker room when she was stopped again by Hiraguchi. 

“Hey, if you want to come back and help at practices, I can’t pay you. But I think having you here is helpful.” Minako nodded. “You were able to get something out of these girls that I’ve been trying to get out of them for years. I can help you find another coaching job while you’re helping, if you’d like.”

“I’d love that.”

===

_ Evening _

“How was school today, Yusuke?”

He’d greeted his mother upon walking in the door, exhausted from his awakening but with a full stomach for the first time in months. “It went well; I hung out with that new friend I told you about after school.”

She was sitting on the sofa so it would be up to him to walk to her. There was no reason for her to get back into her wheelchair. “That’s nice, my dear. What’s his name?”

“Ren Amamiya. He actually knew all about Madarame…”

His mother gave him a shocked look. “Somebody… someone else knows?”

Yusuke nodded. “He had an inkling that Sayuri didn’t belong to him. I don’t know why he thought to ask me.” He dared not tell his mother about that other world. “He thinks he can bring Madarame to justice.”

“That sounds too good to be true.” 

“I agree.”

“But, I must humor him if I am to paint him. I find him to be the ideal human form and it must be recorded with my brush.”

“I appreciate your artistic sensibilities but you can tone it down around me, Yusuke.” He had a tendency to overdo it around his mother, knowing she got a kick out of it. 

“Yes, mother.”

Yusuke really did want to paint Ren, though. Shiho and Ann made the most marvelous models, but painting men was far more difficult. “I wonder if he would make a good nude model?”

“Yusuke, you aren’t asking your new friend to model nude.”

“Why not?”

“Because any reasonable person would think you’re a pervert.”

“I am no such thing!”

===

_ Thursday, June 2, Lunchtime _

“Can I join the newspaper club?”

Ren had approached the girl that ran the school newspaper without greeting. Short, maybe a little taller than Rio, brown hair and glasses; he could blame her for being at least a little bit afraid. She reminded him of the normal timeline’s Futaba, glasses and all. If he greeted her, she might run away. 

She was running the club alone, he knew, and could probably use the help. Regardless, he had his own nefarious purposes for wanting in. Hopefully, a spot on the student newspaper would help him gain better control of the Shujin rumor mill. He wasn’t necessarily trying to stop it, but he thought he could put it’s powers to good use.

“Why would I want you in my club?”

“You don’t have  _ anyone _ in your club.” He was just surprised she hadn’t run away yet.

“That’s because I work best alone.”

“You know, I thought that once. But you look like somebody who’s working stressed, not best.”

“Did you just come up with that right now?” 

“Yes.”

She wasn’t acting as afraid as she usually did. “I guess you can join.”

“Yes! I’m Ren Amamiya. It’ll be good working with you.”

===

**RA:** I joined the newspaper club

**RF:** You’ll like Keiko-chan. 

**RA:** u two friends?

**RF:** She’s too busy for friends. But she’s funny

**RA:** sounds like Makoto

**RF:** yep.

**MN:** I didn’t ask to be attacked 

**MN:** but yeah, she’s nice

**YM:** I was supposed to do photo for them this year

**YM:** she’s scary

**SS:** You’re scared of everyone

**YM:** true

**FS:** Ren did you watch spiderman

**RA:** yeah y

**FS:** …

**RA:** oh. Now I need a grappling hook. Or a web slinger

**RA:** Futaba it is now your job to build me a web slinger

**FS:** we actually have a grappling hook

**RA:** what why

**FS:** Morgana really likes it

**FS:** Morgana says hi

===

_ Thursday, June 2, After School _

LeBlanc was loud when Ren and Sumire returned there after school but it wasn’t busy. There was only one other person in the cafe.

“ _ Please _ , can I have a job?” Minako was leaning over the counter, pleading with Sojiro.

“I don’t even know if you can cook.” Sojiro returned gruffly.

“I’m not the worst at it.” Minako was pouting. “I just need to look busy. You don’t even have to pay me.”

“You’re offering free labor?” Minako nodded. “Then what do you want in return?”

“Nothing. Mitsuru told me I needed a job. She didn’t say anything about me getting paid.”

Sojiro gave her an odd look. “Won’t you need money to survive?”

“Nope! I get paid from my other job, it’s just not demanding enough for me to give it all my time.”

Sojiro looked at Ren. “Are you a hooker?” Ren and Sumire couldn’t suppress their laughter at the angry, red-faced Minako sputtering at Sojiro’s words. 

“ _ I am not a hooker!” _ Sojiro must have touched a nerve. “I am a  _ secret agent _ , damn it.” 

“It’s true, kind of,” Ren interjected.

“I don’t even want to know. If you want to work? Fine. Just don’t break anything and make sure the dishes get done. I’ll teach you some things but you don’t touch the curry.”

It brightened Ren’s day a bit to know Sojiro only trusted him with cooking the food.

“Coach, why are you looking for a job?” Minako had went behind the counter and was putting on an apron.

“I’m not a coach anymore, Sumire.” She wagged a finger. “Just regular ol’ Minako.” She gave a twirl, admiring the apron.

Sojiro shook his head and glared at Ren. “What are you dragging me into?”

“Hey, this was your choice, not mine. I’d have told her to screw off.” Minako looked offended at Ren’s words.

“You would not have.”

“No, I wouldn’t have. But I’d have thought about it, at least.”

===

4:30 couldn’t come fast enough for Yosuke. He was supposed to start work at 8 a.m. today but of  _ course _ one of the coolers in the frozen section had to break down. He’d ended up starting his shift at 6 a.m. and he couldn’t find another manager to cover the last two hours of his shift. This meant a 10 hour day with no breaks, then a three hour drive after. At least he could catch up with Yukiko on the way; they were the only members of the team left in Inaba but they didn’t get to hang out often. Managing a Junes was hard work and Yukiko was always busy with the Inn. 

The fact that both of them were able to get time off work at the same time was something of a miracle. 

“Just one hour left…” Yosuke was counting the seconds until he was allowed to leave, a terrible tactic but one he couldn’t prevent himself from utilizing. The coolers had finally come back on line at noon, which meant most of his day was spent moving merchandise from one cooler to another, and then moving that same merchandise back to its original cooler.

His angry thoughts were interrupted by his name coming over the store’s intercom. 

“Call for Hanamura on line 1-2-4.” ‘Oh, this is going to be great.’

He made his way down the aisle and to the stockroom, where he almost certainly had a thrilling phone call waiting for him.

“This is Hanamura. How can I help you?” His immediate boss, the bozo that never left their Kyoto office but made sure to micromanage every store without actually learning how that specific store worked, was on the line. Apparently sales were down that week. There may have been disparaging comments intermixed. Yosuke wasn’t really listening. The second he found out he had an actual mission he put in for time off.

“We’re just going to have to delay your time off for a few days while we get the store back under control.” 

“Excuse me?”

“Well, you can’t just up and leave with the store in turmoil.”

“Dude, sales are down, that doesn’t mean the store is in danger of going under. It’s one bad week in a sea of profit.”

“And that kind of attitude is why you’ll never make it above manager.”

“I can’t delay my time off. I have another job that I can’t flake on.”

“So Junes isn’t your priority? I see how it is.” He could hear the man scoff.

Yosuke hated his job and he hated Junes, but it had always been his priority until now. “You know what? It  _ was  _ my priority. I don’t know why I let that happen.” The man on the other line started to argue but Yosuke cut him off. “I’ll tell you what. I’m taking this next week off. I will be back in seven days. If you decide you still want me, I’ll return to work. But I have no issue quitting. I’ll find something better.”

The man started to try and talk Yosuke out of it but Yosuke hung up on him. He pulled out his phone and told Yukiko he’d be a little bit earlier than he expected, if she could leave early.

She replied that she was ready to go whenever he was.

===

Yu and Souji were scrambling around the apartment cleaning everything in sight while Rise, Chie and Kasumi watched on in awe at the speed in which they were moving.

“I’m beginning to think he loves Yosuke more than he loves you, Rise,” Chie remarked and Kasumi laughed. Rise was just glad the apartment was getting cleaned. Yu had been scrubbing the sink with reckless abandon, as though Yosuke would notice a dirty apartment.

“Honestly! It’s like he’s getting ready for a first date,” Rise huffed.

“But why is Souji helping?” Kasumi asked.

“He’s just following Yu’s lead.” Rise sighed. “It’s always going to be this way.”

“Honestly, Kasumi, haven’t you noticed that pretty much everything Souji does is imitating Yu?”

Kasumi thought about it. There were a lot of shared commonalities between the two: Souji played soccer, cooked and was constantly reading or studying. “Huh. I really haven’t thought about that.”

“And haven’t you noticed that we kind of look alike?” Rise elbowed her in the ribs.

“Um, well.” Kasumi didn’t know how to respond to that. It was a bit uncomfortable that her boyfriend might only like her because she looked like his brother’s girlfriend. But his brother’s girlfriend is  _ Risette _ of all people, so is that really an insult? “That’s really fucking weird. But also, I guess I should be flattered if he thinks I look like Risette?” She had an upward inflection at the end, like her statement was a question. 

Souji interrupted from across the room. They didn’t realize he was paying attention. 

“You’re much prettier than Rise!” He went right back to cleaning. Rise and Chie spent their next few minutes making fun of a blushing Kasumi.

Of course, it was more than just Yosuke coming that Yu was preparing for. He was expecting unannounced visitors to follow, most importantly Mitsuru Kirijo. It was her apartment, technically. It should probably be spotless.

===

_ Evening _

The police did not appreciate Naoto looking into the Nakagawa case at  _ all _ . She’d never been escorted out of a police station so quickly and roughly in her life. ‘Did one of the officers try and cop a feel?’ No, they didn’t. She purely had the thought for the joke, then got mad at herself. ‘I’ve spent too much time around Yu. Kanji would be ashamed.’

The best part about being on the short side and having an unassuming demeanor meant that she could steal when she had to. It was as simple as swiping the file folder out of the cabinet as they jerked her away. Nobody saw her stuff it in her jacket and if she knew the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department like she knew the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, they definitely didn’t check to see if the file was still in the drawer.

At least she had the case files for this investigation. Half the time she asked for files from the department, they wouldn’t take her seriously or she’d get a fake file. That’s why she normally made sure she could go get them herself.

Regardless, the method in which she obtained the files was irrelevant. She now had them, which means she needed to meet up with Sae.

===

Sae and Makoto’s relationship with their father had greatly improved once their mother started forcing him to face things that made him uncomfortable daily. He’d gone from an extremely anxious wreck to a mildly anxious wreck. At least he could watch the news and have brief discussions with Sae about work without leaving the room in a nervous huff. Sae thought they’d been good about knowing his limits.

Tonight would be a test, though. Naoto had notified Sae she would be coming over with the files relating to Aiyumi’s supposed suicide, and she notified them that it wasn’t a pretty picture that was being painted. Sae was dreading seeing the Detective Prince; she couldn’t imagine how her father felt. 

Naoto arrived about 20 minutes after her phone call checking if they could meet up. She took a seat at the kitchen table across from Sae and next to Makoto. Their father sat on the couch listening in; technically, this wasn’t his investigation. He was only listening in and corroborating what he knew. Naoto opened the file, which was heftier than she thought was normal for a suicide case. On top was the application for her internship. Sae thumbed through it.

“...It’s as Tae said. Top of her class, extra-curriculars, Student Council President…” A lot of this sounded familiar. She looked at Makoto, then continued. “She started university and was elected to a spot in student government. Straight A’s through her first semester… why is all this even here?”

Naoto shrugged. “It’s like they had a case file  _ against _ her ready in case they ever needed it.”

“Why would they do that?” Makoto sounded exasperated.

“It’s evidence of guilt,” the former Officer Niijima said from his place on the couch. “Something happened to her and they were covering their tracks. They wanted her to look guilty.”

“Guilty of what?” Sae had started to speak and Makoto interrupted her with the same question she was going to ask anyway.

“Anything.” Naoto answered. “They wanted dirt. It’s up to us to figure out why.”

“We already know why.” Makoto said.

“We need to find proof.” Naoto’s voice was somber. “Outside of one witness, the trail’s been cold for… at least 7 years. Officer Niijima, do you know anyone assigned there that’s still around?”

“Most of that squad should have retired by now.” He took a few seconds to ponder the question. “I’ll tell you what. I’m going to lunch with an old friend this weekend. He’ll remember better than I can. If that file’s still around, I bet the perp is still at the station somewhere. They’d have cleaned their records out if he retired.”

“Thank you, dad.” Makoto said. 

“I know this isn’t easy for you, Niijima-san.” Naoto started to get up from the table.

“You know? It’s not.” He paused. “This is a bad situation and a tragic case. But it feels nice to be back at this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From Kurt Vonnegut's Player Piano. The main character is an engineer in a society who's workforce has dwindled since nearly all jobs are automated. The world is at war constantly. Paul Proteus, the protagonist, attempts to stay out of it, just wanting to do his job, but much like Ren, a situation arose that he couldn't ignore and he became the face of the rebellion. I don't recommend reading the book. It's long and boring and had I not been majorly depressed when I read it, I would have slept through most of it.
> 
> Why a Persona like this for Mishima? He and Proteus share the role of the perpetual victim; before the return of his friend, Ed Finnerty, Proteus is little more than someone who clocks in and clocks out. Ren plays the role of Finnerty for Yuuki. This whole thing is pretentious as fuck. Sorry.
> 
> I didn't intend to mention the Yukari/Minako stuff but god, that social link in P3P is great. Completely forgot about it until I saw something on Reddit.
> 
> I'm working on chapter 35 as I type this and it's a doozy. It may take a bit longer than usual to get that chapter out, but I have two other fun things I'm working on in the meantime.


	33. Souji Undresses the Truth

_ Thursday, June 2, Evening _

Yosuke and Yukiko reminisced for most of the trip but talk had quieted once the Tokyo skyline came into view. Yosuke was still focused on driving, of course, but the view was haunting a bit. He always thought he’d gotten over his hatred of Inaba but he just felt so  _ at home _ whenever he came back to the city. He’d been in Inaba for years but once Yu and Rise left, he had no real reason to stay there besides Junes.

Yukiko was staring at the skyline in awe. This was the first time she’d been out of the city since she was a small girl. “It’s weird to see all these buildings and realize people live in them.”

Yosuke nodded. “There are more people in one building than there are in all of Inaba.”

“That’s strange. It gives me the… it’s not quite the creeps. What’s it called?”

“Megalophobia?” Yukiko gave him an odd look. “It’s like, when a building or a statute is larger than you’re used to. It’s disorienting.”

“Oh! Like that giant thing we fought Marie in!”

Yosuke winced at the thought. That fight wasn’t fun at all. “Yeah. Except there’s no malevolent god waiting to kill us in Tokyo.”

Yukiko slapped the back of his head. “There wasn’t before but there probably is now!”

Yosuke kept one hand on the wheel while rubbing the back of his head. That hurt. “Don’t tell me you believe in that stuff. God.”

“I don’t, but we should be mindful just in case.” Yukiko wasn’t convinced that their mission tomorrow wouldn’t end in some kind of battle between gods.

Yu Narukami just tended to attract that kind of attention. 

===

Souji and Kasumi sat in his room waiting for Kirijo to arrive. She had called Yu a few minutes prior letting them know she’d just gotten into town and would be stopping by soon. This filled Souji with extreme dread. Kirijo was a bit frightening but what was more difficult to handle was the fact that he never knew where he stood with her. He knew she was constantly weary of what he was before they kidnapped-rescued him. She was always polite and helpful, friendly even, but he had normally referred to her as “Mom.” He hadn’t planned on it sticking until he found out it annoyed her.

That meant Kasumi would definitely be asking questions, because Kirijo was definitely not of age to be having a 15 year old child. Although, claiming he was adopted wasn’t necessarily a lie. Regardless, he didn’t want to withhold information. He had a bit of an idea she was fighting shadows even though she hadn’t explicitly told him. Hopefully tomorrow’s briefing would clear that up.

Kasumi was sitting on his bed, leaning back against the wall, idly playing with her phone while Souji worked at something, she didn’t know what, on his desk. It was silent for a bit before Souji broke that silence.

“There’s something you should probably know about me before Kirijo gets here.”

“Like what? I feel like you’re an open book.” Part of what drew Kasumi to him was how forthcoming he was with everything, like he had nothing to hide so he didn’t hide anything. “Are you a serial killer? Oh! I know some good ways to get rid of a body!” She said this with an enthusiasm that Souji found incredibly discomforting.

“Why do you know- nevermind.” He sighed. “I mean, this is about where I come from.”

“Oh. Yeah, you don’t talk about your childhood much.”

“Yeah, that’s because I’m basically three years old.”

Kasumi’s eyes narrowed. “What.” 

“Well,” Souji started. “I wasn’t alw-”

“Souji! Yosuke and Yukiko are here!” Souji started to get up from his desk but a glare from Kasumi made him sit back down.

“You’re not starting this conversation then getting out of it.” Her tone was stern.

“Alright. So, a few years ago, Kirijo Group was investigating shadows and kidnapped one to study it.”

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

“Well, they needed someone they knew would be docile enough that they could talk it out of doing anything violent.” He took a deep breath, then let it out, then continued. “They discovered Yu had a shadow.”

“You’re Yu’s shadow?” 

Souji nodded. “Yes. I call Yu my brother and I’ve always called Kirijo mom. I just didn’t want you to think she had a kid when she was 10 or something.”

“Oh.” Kasumi thought for a while. “You’re human now, right?”

“You’d know that better than anyone, babe.” He laughed at his own wit. “But yeah, as far as we know, there’s no difference between me and the average person.”

“This does explain why I always have the urge to try and fight you.”

“I think that just stems from-” She interrupted him.

“Think long and hard before you finish that sentence. Narukami.”

“So you’re okay with me being a shadow?”

“Depends. Are we gonna have to deal with that weird Peter Pan bullshit where you never get older?”

“I don’t think so. I’ve gotten taller so I assume I age.”

She gave a reassuring smile. “Okay, good.”

“You really don’t care?” Souji expected some kind of blow up.

“Nothing else in my life makes sense. Why would this?” She paused. “Does this mean everybody here is fighting shadows?”

Souji nodded.

“Well, I can share a secret about me. I’m a Phantom Thief. So is everyone on the roof.” She paused. “Except Haru. She’s just in love with Ryuji.”

“I kind of already knew that.”

“How?”

“You guys are fucking terrible at keeping secrets.”

Kasumi didn’t reply vocally, she just nodded in agreement. Somewhere, Ren sneezes.

===

For someone who earlier roasted Yu for being more in love with his best friend than his girlfriend, Chie was certainly attached to Yukiko’s hip from the second she walked in. 

She’d given a cry of joy and smothered her friend in hugs.

“Ow!” Yukiko stumbled backwards. “Chie! You’re crushing me!”

“I don’t care!” 

Chie broke her suffocating embrace and the two took a seat next to each other on the couch. The room was getting a bit crowded and they were still missing three people, four if they counted Mitsuru. Souji and Kasumi had come out of his room and he introduced his girlfriend to the group.

“It’s nice to meet you, Kasumi-chan,” Yukiko greeted politely. 

Yosuke greeted in typical Yosuke-fashion. “Yu, how does your little brother get a girlfriend before I do?”

“Well, he does have the head start of not working in a grocery store.” Yosuke glared daggers at Chie.

“At least I still have my job, miss former officer.”

“I’ll kick your ass!” Chie had gotten out of her seat and practically flew towards Yosuke before Yukiko got in the way.

“Some things never change. Hey, Yosuke, did you ever get Chie her Trial of the Dragon back?”

Yosuke’s face was one of guilty. “Thanks for the reminder…”

Kasumi leaned into her boyfriend. “Is it always like this?” Souji nodded. 

“So, we gotta talk about tomorrow, right?” Yosuke spoke up. “What are we getting ourselves into?” Then he looked at Kasumi. “Should she be here for this?”

Kasumi thought for a minute. Souji confirmed these people all fought shadows.

“Ah, I think I have more in common with you guys than you think.” She didn’t  _ mean _ for her voice to come out so dramatic sounding but hanging around Souji meant picking up the habit of making things sound grander than they really are. “I’m a Phantom Thief. I’m under the impression you guys are something similar.”

Yu looked at her, unsurprised. “I knew it!”

“Didn’t Ren tell you?”

“You didn’t have to tell them that.” Rise rubbed his back as he pouted. “I wanted to sound smart.”

“We discussed this the other day, Yosuke is the brains of the operation.” 

“Who said that? Did somebody have an aneurysm?” Yosuke’s voice cracked like he was going through puberty. “I mean, I appreciate the compliment but…”

“Yosuke, you’re smarter than you think.” Chie, of all people, stepped in to cheer him up. “Not everyone is Naoto. Speaking of which… where is that nosy snoop?”

“She has a case she’s helping one of our colleagues with,” Yu said. “Kanji didn’t trust himself to figure out the trains, otherwise he’d be here, too.”

“Where’s Teddie?” Souji was the one that asked. Teddie was more well liked among the Investigation Team than basically everyone but they were still surprised anyone would dare speak the accursed’s name. 

“He’s heading back with Kirijo. I think she’s going to try and leave him here. They’re done with their research and now they can’t find him a home.”

Yosuke decided he could take one for the team. He was tired of living alone. “I was thinking of asking her if he could come live with me.” He sighed. 

“Is it that lonely without him?” Chie asked.

“Inaba blows without you guys.” Yosuke couldn’t help thinking about the fact that he was potentially unemployed. “I may have quit Junes today.”

“May have?” Yu spoke up this time.

“My boss was trying to get me to forego my vacation time because of low sales. I told him I’d come back in seven and they could decide if they still wanted me then.”

“You can live with us!”

“Yu! We’re already running low on space.” Rise already knew she was going to lose.

“He can share a room with Souji!”

“I’m okay with that.” Souji spoke up.

“See? It’ll be great.”

“Great…” said Kasumi, who was upset that her boyfriend no longer had his own room.

“Um! I’m not moving to Tokyo!” Yosuke interrupted.

“Buzzkill. I wanted to be roommates.” Souji pouted but stopped when he looked at his girlfriend, who was glaring.

“Not to interrupt, but we should talk about tomorrow.” Yukiko interrupted. “I’d like to know who we’re meeting and what I’m getting myself into.” She motioned to Kasumi. “What can you tell us about your group?”

“Well, when you say it like that, it sounds like we’re enemies.” Kasumi gave her a narrow glare. 

“Not at all. It’s more like finding out if there will be drugs at the party before you head there.”

“If Tae’s involved, there will probably be drugs involved.” Nobody laughed. “She’s a doctor and an apothecary. It was funny. God damn, you guys are lame.” 

“Oh! I get it!” Yukiko started laughing uncontrollably, snorting and all.

“See what you did?” Chie gave Kasumi a mock look of disapproval. “Yukiko, get ahold of yourself.”

“Yukiko is cool, it’s everyone else that’s lame.” Kasumi continued. “Tae is actually fairly new. She’s actually older than you guys by a lot.”

“You guys let an adult join?”

“Multiple, actually. There’s Ren, who I think Yu and Naoto have already met. He’s our leader. We met after my sister bulldozed him in the street.”

“What!?” It came from multiple people.

“She was running away because she was mad at me for…” she looked at Souji. “Reasons that she can tell you if she wants. She wasn’t looking where she was going and fucking trucked him. It was hilarious.”

“That reminds me of the first time we entered the TV,” Yosuke said.

“You what!?” 

“Oh. When we fought shadows, we were inside the TV.”

“You say that like it’s not weird.” Kasumi thought for a minute. “My dad runs a news station. Was it like that?”

Rise’s ears perked up like a puppy. “You’re related to  _ that _ Yoshizawa?”

“Yeah, what of it? He fuck you over?”

“No! The opposite! He gave me my big break.”

“Oh… going to be honest, I’m not used to hearing good things about my dad.” Kasumi’s father was a good man, she knew, but being in the news meant somebody was always bound to be upset.

“I get it.” Yu would know more than anyone. “Every time I publish an article, I get hate from somebody no matter what happens.” 

Kasumi nodded. “It’s gotten scary for us a few times.”

“Would you care to share?” Yukiko was the one that asked.

So Kasumi did. Unintentionally diverted from information on the Phantom Thieves, the Investigation Team listened to some of the more harrowing stories Kasumi remembered from her father and the threats that followed.

Ironically, the threats lessened after the death of Masayoshi Shido. She didn’t include that in her recap. 

===

Teddie blasted ahead of Mitsuru in his excitement to see his friends again. It had been far too long since he’d socialized with anyone who might actually be happy to see him. Mitsuru stopped and greeted the doorman, making polite conversation and leaving him a tip. The man might not have known he was speaking to the owner of the building, but Mitsuru was always sure to treat her employees well. 

She’d ended up having to wait for her own elevator because Teddie didn’t have the patience to wait but it came back fairly quickly. She was glad Teddie hadn’t decided to hit every button and hope he hit the right floor. That seemed like something he would do.

She mashed the button for the top floor and entered the room, where Teddie was getting himself acquainted with a teenage girl she hadn’t recognized.

“How are you treating Teddie’s baby brother?” Teddie was pointing a finger at the red-haired girl, who mostly looked like she was about to clock him.

“Teddie, we’re not brothers! It’s-”

“Teddie! Stand down!” Kirijo hadn’t actually greeted the room yet but it was best to prevent Teddie from getting knocked out by a teenage girl half his size. 

He backed up and away from the young girl.

“I’m sorry, he’s not dangerous.” She started to speak again.

“I’m just a little over _ bearing _ .” He emphasized the pun and most of the room laughed, but Mitsuru groaned. 

“Hello, everyone.” She pulled one of the kitchen table chairs away and sat in the amorphous circle the group had formed. She spoke in Yu’s direction. “How’s everything been since you’ve arrived?”

Yu shrugged. “It’s been good, just busy. It’s good being back in the city.”

Rise agreed. “It’s definitely made my life easier.”

Mitsuru knew Chie must be at least a bit down in the dumps since she left the police force. It was the only reason she was living with Yu and Rise. “How’ve you been handling things, Chie?”

“It’s been great. I have all the time in the world to train!” 

“Akihiko will be happy to hear that.” She paused for a minute. “Speaking of. There are some housekeeping things I need to address. I won’t be staying here long.”

It was unusual to the group for Mitsuru to stop by if she didn’t have a reason to stick around. She’d normally much rather make a phone call.

“Minato is alive and staying with his sister in the city. Fuuka has been monitoring shadow activity from our offices.” Kirijo smiled. “I appreciate you letting her stay here for a few days.”

“Oh please, it’s Fuuka. As long as she isn’t cooking, she’s harmless.” Rise smacked Yu on the back of the head.

“Did you just say Minato is alive?” Rise forced Mitsuru back on subject.

Mitsuru nodded. “Once Phantom Thief activity picked up, something forced the seal to break. He woke up on the rooftop at Gekkoukan. Amada found him.”

“Wait.” Kasumi interrupted before anyone else could speak. “Minato, like our Minato? Coach’s brother?” Mitsuru nodded. “He was dead?”

“Yes. He passed away eight years ago when he became the seal locking away the Fall.”

“...And I thought Souji being a shadow was fucking strange.” 

“You’re taking that surprisingly well.” Kirijo was impressed with this girl despite the language. She reminded her of Shinji, in a way. 

“I’m a Persona-wielding shadow fighter dating a shadow. I have a sister who dates a guy that has a billion Personas, a coach that abuses her healing powers to make gymnastics practices less exhausting and now a friend who’s actually been dead for eight years. Does  _ any _ of that sound normal to you?”

“When you put it that way, we’re all just a bit messed up, aren’t we?” Yukiko giggled at herself.

“Royally so.”

===

Mitsuru had dropped Aigis off with Minako, Minato and Yukari before she went to visit the Investigation Team and that newcomer, Kasumi. Mitsuru realized before she left that she never properly introduced herself, but she’d known of Kasumi beforehand. Ren gave a detailed description of his team during a phone conversation so Mitsuru knew what to look out for. Her next stop was Minako and Yukari’s apartment, where she was staying for the night.

When she arrived, Minato was laying on the couch with his head in Aigis’ lap. It was the same way he laid when he died. 

“Minato.” Mitsuru had been in the room for a few minutes. Aigis had almost definitely noticed her presence but chose not to disturb the still-young kid that was resting. 

He shot straight up. “Mitsuru!” He left the couch in record time. He wasn’t a hugger, but being dead for eight years and not seeing his friends in so long made him one. Mitsuru, herself, wasn’t used to this affection, but it was a nice hug. “Thank you.” His head rested on her shoulder.

Minako came out from the bathroom brushing her teeth, getting ready for bed. She was wearing pajamas, shorts and an oversized t-shirt. 

“Sup, Kirijo?” Minato had broke his embrace by then and returned to sitting next to Aigis on the couch. There wasn’t anything on the TV but Aigis was good at doing nothing. As long as she had Minato next to her, not much else mattered. 

‘That has to make dating awkward for Minato.’ She knew Minato to be a serial dater but not the type for commitment. It shocked everyone when him and Yukari started dating exclusively. “Not much, just met with the Investigation Team. They had one of your fellow Phantom Thieves with them.”

“Ah, was Kasumi with Souji?” 

Mitsuru nodded. “You guys should keep that quiet from Wakaba. She might ask to watch them mate so she can collect research.”

“Her daughter’s probably already tried that.” Futaba could be a creep sometimes and upon further thought from Minako, Shiho would probably try the same thing. “They’re good kids.”

“It seems like it.” Mitsuru sighed. “Minato, I hope you know we never abandoned you.”

“I know.” Minato’s voice spoke the words but they weren’t convincing.

“If we knew what broke the seal, we would have done it years ago.”

“Mitsuru, I understand. I’d rather not discuss it. I’m just glad I’ll get to see everyone again.” Minato got up and started heading to his room, with Aigis following. “Aigis, you can sleep in the guest room. You’ll have your own bed there.”

“I don’t need a bed, though.”

“Aigis, he’d like to be left alone,” Mitsuru said.

“But that’s dangerous.”

Minako had returned from brushing her teeth and joined Mitsuru on the couch. It had been years since they’d had actual one-on-one interaction.

“How’s Minato handling everything?”

“About as well as you could expect. He’s doing well in school and he’s made some friends.”   
“I couldn’t imagine him not making friends.” Mitsuru gave a small chuckle. “He collects strays.”

Minako nodded. “Ren’s like that, too. They get along fairly well. There’s definitely some alpha-dog issues with the group, though. Ren’s good about backing off and letting him do his own thing.”

“That’s good. That’s how you two were.”

“We’ve got you to thank for that. I don’t think either of us could lead like we do if you and Akihiko didn’t step down and let us.”

Mitsuru laughed. “You wouldn’t have let us take back over.”

“That’s true. That brings me to something else.” Minako had a serious look in her eyes. “These kids think this is their mission and I’m inclined to agree.”

“What do you mean?” Mitsuru tensed. “We’ve been working towards this for years!”

“This isn’t as personal for you.”

“Not personal!? What world do you live in?”

“Ren and Makoto both despise Maruki far more than you can imagine. Futaba, too, although she probably won’t show it.”

“Just because they hate somebody, doesn’t mean we should back off.”

“You should back off because they’ll make you their enemies if you don’t.” Minako’s words bit into Mitsuru. “They’re good kids but you cannot go into this just thinking they’ll trust you because I do.”

“Why are they so paranoid?”

“His trust has been betrayed over and over again. Wouldn’t you be paranoid?”

Mitsuru sighed. “There’s more to this that you aren’t telling me.”

“There’s a lot more to this that I  _ can’t _ tell you.” 

“We have one more issue that Minato won’t even talk about.” Minako had been avoiding the topic, herself. “Rio, the youngest one in our group. Her Persona is Orpheus.”

“What!?”

_ Friday, June 3rd, Morning _

“I can’t believe you’re missing this, Shinji.” Akihiko had finished his morning workout and showered before packing everything into his car. Shinjiro stopped by to help but he wasn’t coming with.

“I can’t just close down the restaurant every time Mitsuru decides the world is in danger.” He huffed. “And if it really  _ is  _ in danger, I’m fine being too big of a bitch to do anything about it.”

Akihiko finished piling his last suitcase into his vehicle’s trunk. “I…” Shinji moved like he expected some sort of insult or threat. “I get it.”

“Somehow, I don’t believe you.”

“You think I wanted to make Chihiro stay home alone with just the kids for a week? You think I wanted to burn a week’s worth of vacation time?”

“No. I guess not.”

“Besides, we need you here for Ken anyway.” Ken had been living with Shinjiro ever since he’d had enough money to get his own place.

“How’s Chihiro taking you going on a road trip to see your ex?” Shinji smirked at Akihiko, who took offense.

“It’s not that way and you know it,” Akihiko spat back with a huff. “She’s just worried about me being in danger, but it’s no worse than work.” Akihiko had joined the same police department they’d bought weapons from as kids. He, himself, didn’t sell weapons to kids.

“And now she gets to sit at home worrying instead of worrying from work, where she can keep herself busy.”

“The rugrats will keep her busy enough.” 

“I suppose that’s true. I’ll be sure to send Ken over. He misses the twins.”

“You mean  _ you _ miss the twins.”

“It’s not my fault they’re cute. Plus, they love me.”

“They love you because you feed them.”

“Hey, that strategy worked on you, didn’t it?”

Shinji hugged Akihiko goodbye. He’d made a habit of that ever since Minato died. 

Akihiko hit the road after that, lost in the thought of seeing one of his best friends for the first time in nearly a decade. It was weird thinking Minato was back. It would be even weirder seeing Minato be younger than Ken.

Seeing Minako was always an ordeal of a different sort.

===

_ After School _

“Sumire, you need to get famous so we can have an apartment like this.” Ren had never been in a room, in real life, half as pretty as Narukami’s apartment. It had a great view of the city and it was bright and welcoming. Honestly, he got that impression from everything about the Investigation Team. With what he knew of Minako and Minato, he’d expected there to be some sort of edge to everybody. These all just seemed like normal kids post-college, just finding their way in the world. Shirogane was the only one, Ren thought, that had ever shown any signs of being a danger, and she was currently thoroughly by a still-starstruck Goro, who had every second of her career memorized. Makoto stood by looking just a bit jealous.

Ren was glad he wouldn’t be the worst superfan there today, because he was trying very hard to play it cool in front of Risette. Their past trip into Shido’s palace notwithstanding, he hadn’t gotten much time to be starstruck. 

The grouping was a tad eclectic, Ren had noticed. Tae and Rio must’ve had some sort of previous interaction with the extremely large black-haired man man dressed in a leather jacket because they were conversing with great interest. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know what about, because there were a few times they spoke in hushed tones. He half expected their topic of conversation was the reason they were worried about getting drug tested.

Shiho was pestering a fairly tall, elegant looking woman with black hair and a red dress. Initially, Ren thought he should step in to save her but then she started laughing at something Shiho had said, and nothing Shiho had said in her life was funny enough to warrant such laughter. He decided to leave it alone. 

Ann and Risette were off in their own corner with Chie, who was explaining in deep detail how to leverage a man’s arm against him in order to break it with the least effort possible. Ren guessed it to be a necessary skill for people in a profession that was most likely to attract stalkers. Being a woman must suck. 

Ren did not recognize the man with shaggy brown hair stuck talking to Yusuke and Mishima but he pitied him greatly. Yusuke’s gestures were wild and Mishima, who in Ren’s experiences handled Yusuke’s eccentricities fairly well, was covering his face in embarrassment. 

Ryuji had gone and joined Ann and Rise in their self-defense lesson; he got roped into being Chie’s crash test dummy.

Narukami must’ve noticed Ren wandering the room awkwardly, eavesdropping on conversations and pulled him away. “Come on, you can’t just eavesdrop. I’ll introduce you to Teddie.” 

They approached a man (or a kid, Ren though. He looked young.) with bright blond hair and blue eyes who had been conversing with Morgana, who seemed weary of him but was warming up to him quickly. It turns out Teddie was very good at giving chin scratches.

“This is Teddie, we met him on our first trip into the TV.”

“That’s funny. That’s how they found Morgana.” Ren replied.

“Oh! Does that mean you’re a shadow, too?” Morgana looked offended.

“I am no such thing! I’m a human! I’m just stuck like this…” Ren decided it was better to cut Morgana off than to let him go into detail on his background.

“You’re a shadow?” Ren asked Teddie.

“I was. Now I’m a human.”

“How’d you turn into a human?” Morgana’s voice was full of hope.   
“I did a lot of situps.”

“No, but seriously.” 

Narukami laughed. “That’s the story. I don’t get how it works either.”

Morgana would spend the rest of that conversation claiming he wasn’t a cat while acting extremely similar to a cat. Yu and Teddie were definitely cat people; Futaba would probably have trouble getting Morgana to leave. Speaking of Futaba, where are her and Wakaba?

They were about to meet Yosuke next when Kirijo returned with some new faces following her.

===

Ren had helped the new group pull some folding chairs out of a closet so everyone could sit. Ann and Shiho took up once side of the couch, sitting close enough that they could probably fit an additional person on the couch. Souji and Kasumi took the other part, with Rio sitting next to Kasumi. Tae, Kanji and Naoto stood at the back of the room, too cool for a chair, apparently. Ren and Sumire had gotten folding chairs of their own sitting next to each other, Goro and Makoto to their left. The rest of the group was strewn about the room in a form of organized chaos. At least everyone was facing the same direction. 

Kirijo was at the front of the room looking not unlike a teacher on the first day of school. She was even kind of dressed like it, wearing a white ruffled blouse and a black pencil skirt. To Ren, she seemed like the kind of person who was never dressed in anything besides business casual at a minimum. These were probably her pajamas.

“Before we start, we’ll have everyone introduce themselves. I want to get this over quickly, but we’ve got a lot to cover and I am not used to commanding an army.” There were a lot of people in this room. They had 26 people not including herself, which meant commanding such a large group. They might need every single one of them if what Wakaba had told her were true. “I’ll go first, then we’ll just go in a circle.” A woman with bright turquoise hair was to her left, so they’d go in that order. “I’m Mitsuru Kirijo. We started fighting shadows when we formed S.E.E.S. at my father’s behest. I’m trying to continue the tradition of keeping the world safe.”

“I’m Fuuka Yamagishi, and I was running late. Wakaba held me up. Um. I’m a navigator. Fighting isn’t really my thing.” Fuuka had been sitting next to Futaba for a bit before Mitsuru, the two bonding over their love of computers.

“I’m Futaba Sakura.” She pointed at her mom. “She told me I had to talk to new people today. Being here forced me to hit my level cap.” Ren laughed.

“She’s another navigator,” Wakaba finished for Futaba. She was sitting with Fuuka and Futaba, so it was her turn anyway. “And she’s not as shy as she’ll have you think. I’m Wakaba. Most of you know me in some way.”

Minato was next, although he’d already caught up with his friends. They’d had their teary eyed reunion separately before they met the rest of the group.

“I’m Minato Arisato, most of you don’t know me because I’ve been dead for eight years.”

“What the fuck?” Tae blurted out. “Oops. But how?”

“Good question. Do I tell the whole story?” The question was geared towards Mitsuru.

She okayed it, so Minato shared the majority of how he became the great seal.

“And now you’re just here, like nothing happened.” Tae spoke it like a sentence but it was definitely a question.

“That’s right. And I’m still 16 like I was when I died.”

“That’s fucked.”

“It’s extremely fucked.”

And so on went the room. There was Akihiko, a cop who also boxed as a hobby, Yukari, who Ren had met previously but was still astoundingly beautiful, Aigis, who wouldn’t leave Minato’s side for anything and then they said they were missing Ken and Shinjiro. Ren had heard of Shinjiro’s cooking from Minako and he was a bit disappointed he didn’t get to meet him.

The Investigation Team’s introductions went about as blandly as could be expected for everyone except Yosuke, who decided to share the tale of how he quit his job to be there. 

“Isn’t that the plot to Clerks?” Wakaba asked.

“It shares similarities.” 

“Alright, so Yosuke’s codename is Dante. Glad we have that one figured out already.” Only a few people in the room got the joke.

Most of the Investigation Team and S.E.E.S. already knew each other, so their introductions were fairly brief. Ren could sense that his group felt the need to make a case for their inclusion, although Mitsuru assured him they would have autonomy on this mission. 

Makoto introduced herself first among the Thieves, not counting Futaba, Minako and Minato. “I’m the Student Council President at Shujin and top of my class. Until recently, that was about it.” She grabbed Goro’s hand. She wasn’t used to speaking in a room full of adults. “In the Metaverse, I go by Queen.”

“Damn, Mitsuru, she stole your thunder.” It was Minako prodding Mitsuru this time but through the introductions there were quite a few proddings from her, Minato and Akihiko. Perhaps Mitsuru wasn’t as much of a hardass as she portrayed. She gave a sigh and told Makoto to continue. 

“I’ll say, this mission is personal to me. My dad disappeared a few years ago only to reappear again recently. Naoto actually helped us get him back to normal.” She sighed. “Maruki also brought back my mom, somehow. She’d died of pneumonia when I was a child. My dad was a mental shutdown victim but he brought back my dad’s cognition of my mom. I think.”

Wakaba hadn’t ever heard of such a thing, but if bringing Souji into the world was possible, there wasn’t a good reason Maruki couldn’t bring a cognition into the world. “That sounds plausible. I’m not entirely sure how Maruki’s power works. I pray we don’t find out,” Wakaba replied.

They’d messed up their order when Makoto spoke first; it technically should have been Ryuji’s turn but he was too nervous to speak, so she went anyway. Shiho followed Makoto.

“I’m Shiho. I’m the only one of us that’s ever summoned in the real world, which is pretty cool. Also, why isn’t Iori here?” 

“Oh, yeah, you’re one of his students,” Kirijo replied. “He’ll be here for tomorrow’s mission. Him and his wife had a prior engagement.”

“It’s so weird that Junpei ended up being the responsible one,” Yukari said aloud.

“Hey! I’m responsible!” Akihiko replied, a bit offended.

“Yeah, while he’s taking care of his wife. Where’s  _ your _ wife, Aki?” Akihiko and Yukari didn’t exactly get along anymore after the breakup he’d had with Minako. Minako had long ago let bygones be bygones but Yukari would hold a grudge until death.

“Yukari! Back off.” Minako warned.

“Ann, that’s your cue. You’ve got petty drama, too!” Shiho was lucky Yukiko was in the room; it saved her from getting absolutely no laughs at her joke.

“You’re an asshole, Shiho.” Nothing in Ann’s tone or features said she was kidding. “I’m Ann. This jerk,” she pointed at Shiho, “is my girlfriend and I’m sorry for her behavior. She’ll pay for it dearly later.” Shiho both loved and hated the sound of that. “I’m a model? I guess that’s interesting enough. I go by Panther when we’re fighting. Shiho is Phoenix.”

Ryuji finally gathered up the courage to speak. It was strange to see him so timid. “I’m Ryuji Sakamoto. I don’t really do anything anymore besides exercise and go to these meetings ma signed me up for.”

“Ryuji’s a mama’s boy.” 

“You got a problem with that, Suzui?”

Ryuji felt a hand on his shoulder. Kanji had moved behind him. “There’s no problem with that at all. Isn’t that right, Shiho?” Shiho would be quiet now.

They were back on track, now. “I’m Goro Akechi. I was homeless for a while but Tae took me in and now I live with her and Rio.” He couldn’t think of what else to say. “Shido was my biological father. I’m glad he’s dead, but I kind of wish I’d gotten to play a role in his demise.”

Nobody said anything. Yusuke went next.

“I’m Yusuke Kitagawa. This is my first mission and I have no idea what I’m getting into.” He gestured towards Yuuki. “And this is Yuuki. He’s in the same boat.”

“Are they going to be liabilities?” Mitsuru asked Ren.

“Almost definitely. How else will they learn?”

“That’s completely irresponsible!” 

“How do you think I learned? How do you think Narukami learned? Do you think Minato always knew what he was doing?”

“I still don’t know what  _ I’m _ doing,” Minako interjected.

“See? We’ll be fine.”

Yuuki and Yusuke gave each other a look. Yusuke wasn’t nervous at all. Yuuki was shitting bricks. 

“I’ll put Minako in charge of protecting them. She can sick Alice on anyone who causes problems.”

“Yeah, right.” She laughed uncomfortably. “I’ll totally use Alice again.”

“Can we get back to the introductions?” Ren was leaving Mitsuru extremely frustrated. 

Before Mitsuru could respond, Kasumi started talking in a cheerful tone that made it too obvious that she was uncomfortable. Or perhaps, it was the fuming Sumire across the room that she was trying to district. Ren hadn’t noticed his girlfriend grow exceedingly angry over his and Mitsuru’s conversation.

“I’m Kasumi Yoshizawa and the girl that looks like me is my sister Sumire. I’m better than her at gymnastics.”

“You are not!”

“Sure, sis. You protest too much.” Sumire sufficiently distracted. “My boyfriend is a shadow which is dope and Minako was our gymnastics coach. Sumire and I plan on making it to the Olympics the next time around.”

Akihiko perked up at that. “Your training must be intense.”

“How long are you in town? I doubt you could keep up.” Minako didn’t laugh outwardly but she was amused at Kasumi’s ability to push Akihiko’s buttons.

“I bet you I could.”

“Want to put a wager on that bet?”

“Alright, Kasumi no gambling, please.” Ren interrupted her before she could get even  _ more _ carried away.

Sumire hadn’t yet calmed down and Ren wasn’t about to let her speak. He shot Tae a look, trying to convince her to go next.

She sighed. “I’m Dr. Tae Takemi. I got dragged into all this shit by accident.”

“Same, though.” Rio interjected.

“Anyway. Legally, Rio and Goro are my kids. God, it’s weird being the oldest person in the room.”

“Where’d you get your jacket?” Yukari asked before Tae could go back to not paying attention. Tae was wearing her jean and leather jacket with all of the patches on it that Rio loved.

“Kanji helped me sew the patches on. The jacket, itself, came from a thrift store.”

“You’ll have to take us with you next time you go shopping.” Ann had wanted to change up her style just a bit. It would be helpful for getting different types of modeling gigs.

“I’d be down, but I go to some pretty shady places.”

Ren laughed. “You’re a back alley doctor. Your doctor’s office is the  _ shadiest _ place you go.”

“Fuck off.”

“Do you really get her to follow orders?” Mitsuru tried to ask Ren quietly.

“Hey, we got Shinji to follow orders and she’s only half as surly as he is.” Akihiko tried to hush Mitsuru. “Actually, you single? I’m tired of Shinji interrupting my date night.”

“What’s he loo-” Tae got interrupted by Rio.

“Stop trying to hook up, _ mom _ .” Rio’s tone was playful, luckily. Ren wasn’t sure he could handle another blow up. “I got dragged into this, too. Ever see that old cartoon of the baby in the construction site?” She got a couple nods. “That’s basically me. Shiho’s probably keeping a running tab on how many times she’s stopped me from getting hurt.”

“The number isn’t  _ that _ high,” Shiho added.

“Okay, Sumire, you’re next.” She’d calmed down a little bit.

“I’m Sumire Yoshizawa. I don’t have much to say other than what Kasumi already said.” Her voice was uncharacteristically terse. “Ren is my boyfriend, so I might be a bit biased, but he’s a great leader and I’d follow him to the ends of the earth.” She glared at Kirijo the whole time she spoke.

Kirijo hadn’t been unsettled by a glare in her life until now and it showed visibly. 

“Alright, Sumire. I appreciate you defending me but she’s right to call me out. She’s just being cautious.” Ren laughed at Kirijo. “You think that was bad, just wait til you meet Makoto’s sister.”

He stood up. “My turn, then. I’ll go last. My story is unusual and long. Although Minato’s might be a little more unusual. Some of you already know most of this, so I’ll gloss over what I can.”

“I’ve been trapped in a time loop for the last 112 years.” 

Kirijo hadn’t expected anything like this; she was shocked into silence. Narukami blinked a few times then shook his head. ‘Was this something that could have happened to me?’ The reception among the rest of the group created murmurs of conversation that wasn’t quite audible. The thieves except the newcomers, Yusuke and Mishima, and Tae and Rio, all knew already. Tae had a bit of an idea that there was supernatural fuckery about when she met Ren that first day anyway, so while this was shocking, it wasn’t unreasonable. ‘I should have sent him to a therapist, too.’

Ryuji thought back to when he first met Ren and how his new friend treated him at first. ‘To him, I’ve been his best friend longer than I’ve been alive.’ Ryuji’s heart broke just a bit. ‘And I thought he was just fuckin with me.’

“Sumire. Did you know about this?” Kasumi was the only person to speak her thoughts out loud. Sumire nodded. “You didn’t tell me?”

“He told me in confidence!”

“You’re fucking a centigenarian!”

Ren sighed. ‘Leave it to Kasumi to suck the tension out of the room.’

“I know. It’s unbelievable and stupid. I still don’t know why it’s happened but this time around is so different, I hesitate to even call it a loop. For one, this is the first time I’ve met  _ any _ of you. The Phantom Thieves were always there except Rio. Mishima and Shiho, in a normal timeline, aren’t there. I didn’t know anything about the Yoshizawas or Rio. Goro was an evil mastermind trying to plot my death and now he’s one of my best friends. Then there’s other stuff that I can’t really go into that has changed, too, like with the Velvet Room guys.” 

“The Velvet Room? You’ve seen Igor?”

“I’m honestly surprised you haven’t. He’s been asking about you.” Ren replied to Yu.

“You think he’ll still be around at Christmas? I’d like to send him a Christmas card.”

“You’re such a dork.” Rise leaned her head on her boyfriend.

Ren tried to get back on track. “Now I’m sitting in a room with a bunch of other Persona users about to take down a palace I’d heard nothing about. Do you guys know anything about palaces?”

“I can explain, if you want to sit down. You seem a bit overwhelmed.” Wakaba stood up from her seat and Ren returned to his.

“I appreciate that. You probably know what’s actually going on anyway.”

===

“Distorted desires, huh?” Yu said. “So, this Marukyu guy.”

“Yu, that’s my grandma’s tofu place.” 

“Oh. Yeah, right. Maruki.” Rise nodded. “Basically, he’s a Persona user that has desires so distorted he formed his own little TV world?”

“Thats… actually, that description works way better than what I gave.” Wakaba gave a polite smile. “His palace is by far the strongest distortion I’ve ever been in. I wish I’d have realized sooner what that meant. This will not be easy.”

No, Ren thought. It’ll be much more difficult than anything they’ve ever faced, especially if Minato’s shadow appears.

“We can do this. We’ve never had this much power in one team before.” Ren said with confidence. “I’m certain we can handle this.”

Sumire wrapped her arms around his. “That’s my Ren.”

Afterwards, the room devolved into more socializing and the atmosphere was a bit lighter. Ren checked his phone and realized he had a message from Keiko.

“Are you really skipping out on our first budget meeting?”

“Hey, Mitsuru, can I get a note explaining why I missed our newspaper meeting?”

===

_ Saturday, June 4th, After School _

They were back at Narukami’s place after school the next day prepared to infiltrate the palace. Nobody was able to pay attention in class, and Rio wore a bruise on her forehead from Ushimaru catching her daydreaming. Makoto had bags under her eyes. Goro sounded ready but he affirmed that between yawns. The only Phantom Thieves with energy to spare were Sumire and Kasumi. 

Junpei had been filled in on everything by Kirijo before he got there today; had she not filled him in, Rio and Shiho would have gladly done so. Shiho was busy giving him a hard time about how she had more experience as a Phantom Thief, so she was technically his coach. He argued back for a bit before giving in. It was obvious after a bit of an explanation that palaces were far different than Tartarus. 

The chairs were where they left them last night, the group knowing they’d be back in the coming days. If all things went well, they’d be done within the next few days. In the case of the Phantom Thieves, they’d have to be done soon. Ren had promised Yusuke they’d take down Madarame soon and Ren didn't want to break that promise.

Mitsuru looked to the four Wildcards. “Which one of you is taking the lead on this?” Yu immediately said Ren and Minako and Minato agreed.

“I’m a bit out of practice, so we’ll let you handle this, leader.” Yu smacked Ren on the back in encouragement.

“Yeah, we’ve already been following your lead anyway.” Minato said. “This way, I can just fight whatever shadow comes my way without worry.”

“I’m still coming off of getting shot in the head.”

“Wait, you got shot in the head?” Akihiko interrupted.

“Yeah, I’m fine though. It was just in the Metaverse. Nothing a Diaharan couldn’t fix.”

Ren was surprised all these adults would willingly take orders from a 16-year-old. “We all ready?”

He got affirmative nods from everybody in the group. All 29 of them.

“Wakaba, do we really need this many people?”

She nodded. “You’ll see why in a minute.” She pulled up the application on her phone. “Takuto Maruki. Utopia. The World.”

Ren didn’t have time to swear when the world shifted and they were… right back in Yu Narukami’s apartment.

“Maruki’s distortion is literally planet earth…” Ren’s heart was in his toes. He sat back down on the couch. Sumire sat next to him, laying her head on his shoulder with an arm around him. “I’m never getting out, am I?”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I combined chapter 33 and 34, so here's a mega-chapter that's far too long. Chapters that are far too long will become a staple over at least the next two chapters. I don't have much in the way of author's notes for this chapter but I've been sitting on the Marakyu joke since at least March.
> 
> I feel like Yukari is definitely the type to hate her best friend's ex more than her best friend does. 
> 
> Also, this pushes me past 150k words and that's just outrageous. I can't believe my brain hasn't deflated like one of those old 'don't smoke pot' commercials.


	34. Gentle Madman, Part 1

_ Saturday, June 4th, After School _

It was a shame Mona couldn’t turn into a Greyhound. They’d need one to get around. Walking from Narukami’s apartment to the government research lab that was the center of the distortion wasn’t realistic.

One interesting thing, to Ren, was that the only person who changed is Morgana. Nobody else was in their Metaverse outfit and the Phantom Thieves, outside of Minako, couldn’t summon their Personas at all. 

“Arsene!” Ren called but got nothing.

“Hecate!” Ann called but got nothing.

“Captain Kidd!” Ryuji called and again, nothing.

Nothing was working. They were definitely in the Metaverse, though. The boosts in speed and strength that normally came from being at a palace or in Mementos were still there and Morgana was in his Metaverse form.

“Does anyone know what’s going on?” Ren addressed the people standing closest to him. Futaba didn’t answer him specifically, but she made sure to complain about having to walk. It wasn’t normal for a group that large to be walking through a residential neighborhood in Tokyo. 

Wakaba finally spoke up. “I think we aren’t close enough to the center of the distortion to register as a threat.”

“How do we get close?”

“We’re not intended to get close. It’s a government research lab with top of the line security both in the Metaverse and outside of it.”

“And you don’t have access.” Wakaba shook her head. Ren wasn’t shocked. “This shit’ll just have to be my magnum opus. How many miles away is this place?”

Fuuka summoned Juno to scan the area. “It’s about 1.4 miles from here. There are many shadows between here and there but there are also a lot of cognitions. It seems like the shadows are trying to avoid disturbing the cognitions.”

“That’s not unusual. The shadows never attacked cognitions anywhere else.” Ren thought about the palaces he’d been in. Shido had a whole cruise ship full of cognitions that didn’t seem to rile the shadows.

“I guess you’re right. I’m used to shadows attacking anything human-shaped.”

“Are there any areas where the shadows seem more active?” Yosuke was the one who asked the question.

“I’m not picking anything up,” Fuuka replied. “Rise, can you find anything?”

The group walked past another series of apartment buildings, reaching a clearing where they could see their surroundings. In the direction of the same district where Sae’s Casino once stood was a skyscraper larger than Ren had ever seen in his life. He looked to his friends. They were all staring. The building was dreadful, a blight on the Tokyo skyline; it was bright silver with a gold halo running around the top. The structure twisted as it reached into the sky, it’s ridges in a wave pattern as it reached the top. The halo was spinning slowly, Ren could see.

Inside of that clearing was a small park. There were cognitive children playing on the playground. One sliding down the slide looked their way but didn’t approach them. He seemed wary of them.

Rise had an idea of what Yosuke was going for. “I’m not seeing any movement. I’m seeing shadows marked but they’re sticking in the same spot. It’s like they’re defending something instead of patrolling.” 

“What do you think they’re defending?” Yosuke asked.

“I don’t know.” Ren replied.

“We could just go… ask a shadow? There’s one right there in the park.” Narukami broke from the group and walked towards a large shadow. From what Ren could tell, they all easily outleveled the shadow. They were still too far from the center of the distortion to run into anything “Excuse me, sir.” The shadow was quite a bit taller than Yu. “We’re just curious. What are you guarding?”

The shadow’s voice was distorted and drawn out; the voice wouldn’t have been out of place on a Shinjuku bum who’d just given his last dime to a maid. “We are protecting the young master. He must not be disturbed by outsiders.”

“Thank you, sir. I appreciate your help.” Yu gave a smile. “Have a nice day!”

“I can’t believe that worked.” Ren was dumbfounded and he looked at Minato. “Was anything ever that easy for you?”

“Buddy, I think  _ you _ have it easy, and you’ve been through this 100 times.”

“So, there’s a kid here that shadow is guarding.” Yu approached the group again. “Why do you think he’s guarding the kid?”

“He’s a mental shutdown victim.” Makoto spoke before Naoto could. “He’s being guarded because he doesn’t want to go back.” 

Naoto nodded and continued. “Makoto’s father must’ve been a resident here.”

Ren’s breath caught. “This is where Maruki sends the victims.”

“It’s like Heaven.” Yu said, not meaning it as a compliment.

===

_ 3 Months Ago _

“Minoru, sweetie. Mommy has to go away for a few days.” Miyako Yamato didn’t want to leave him home but his father was demanding she accompany him on his business trip. His last trip nearly destroyed their marriage after Miyako found photos of another woman’s breasts on his phone. It would have been more okay if the woman were at least attractive. Instead, it looked like some used-up tramp cosplaying as Risette. The tattoos were gross, too.

“You can’t go.” Miyako felt bad. ‘I’m a bad person, not a bad mother. I can’t do this to him.’ She wanted to stay. She wanted to leave his father. This nanny she was leaving her little Minoru with was fine for a couple of hours, but Miyako didn’t trust her to take care of her rambunctious three-year-old for the full two days. She didn’t have a choice. She didn’t have anyone else. 

She left a note on the counter for the nanny letting her know what food was in the fridge already and what would be easiest to cook for Minoru, along with some rules of the house. It was nothing intense. Just keep things clean and make sure Minoru doesn’t miss nap time. “Mom, I don’t want you to go.”

Minoru wasn’t normally this talkative. “Sweetie, I’ll be back soon. I promise. I love you.” She embraced her son, who started crying. The nanny was in the guest room, getting some of her things unpacked for the next few days.

Her phone rang. Yuuto was waiting downstairs.

===

Yuuto Yamato couldn’t believe his luck in getting invited to accompany Masayoshi Shido in one of his campaign appearances. This was going to be a major shot in the arm for his business, an upstart fast-food chain specializing in American-style burgers. This wasn’t anything like Big Bang Burger. This was actual imported American beef that had cost him a pretty penny. It was expensive but worth it. He’d already had three franchises and he was looking to open more. With Shido onboard, he could have a dynasty on his hands. 

It was a shame he had to bring Miyako with him. She was always killing his buzz but she wouldn’t let it be after she saw that photo of Vicky on his phone. ‘Why did I leave that out?’ At least he could save money on those kinds of services tonight. Miyako wasn’t one to tell him no when it came to that sort of thing, even if she wasn’t much more than a dead fish.

The female orgasm was a myth perpetuated by weaker men, anyway. 

“Yuuto, dear, is there any way we can get back a day early? I don’t want to leave Minoru alone for so long.” This woman, Yuuto thought. She just couldn’t let their little boy be a man. He was a Yamato! He was born to be strong, to be in charge of other men. 

“We have the nanny for a reason, Miyako. He’ll be fine.” He replied in his favorite gruff, manly tone that his wife mocked with her friends. Yuuto thought it made him sound tough. She thought it made him sound like a loser. “I really can’t worry about that right now. I need to focus on tonight.”

“It’s just dinner, dear.” She sighed. “You’re charming. You don’t need to put this much effort into these people.”

Yuuto couldn’t believe what his wife was saying. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. With these political connections, we’ll be on a rocket straight to the top!”

“Have you ever thought about just being happy with what you have?”

He scoffed. “Spoken like a true loser. I’ll teach you.”

“Whatever.”

===

“Okina’s no Tokyo, that’s for sure.” Yuuto was finally sitting at a head table with a man running for Prime Minister. He’d kissed ass and schmoozed for years to get to this point. To call him a brown-noser was an insult to schmucks everywhere. To hear Shido insult his hometown hurt a bit: Okina was one of the few things that made Yuuto feel pride. It’d grown greatly since he was a child, now having its own train station and shopping center where people actually commiserated. 

He took credit for the city’s resurgence behind the opening of his restaurant.

“I think it’s got it’s own charm.” He was careful to keep his tone as light as possible as not to come off as defiant. “It might not be as busy but the people there have worked hard to build it up.”

“I’m not talking about your piddly little shops.” Shido bit back. “I’m talking about the women! I can walk through Shinjuku and take any broad I want.” Yuuto didn’t like where this is going. “Getting one here is work. They don’t know who I am. They don’t  _ understand _ that I could ruin their life just by snapping their fingers.”

“I’m sure you could find somebody, sir,” one of his lackeys replied. 

Yuuto didn’t consider himself a man of morals. Some part of him knew he wasn’t a good person but that part of his conscience had long since been silent. It was curious that this part of his mind was speaking up now. It didn’t speak up when he cheated on his wife, when he fired an employee for using sick days, or when he leveraged his wealth against those lesser than him. Why now?

“Why would you ruin their life?” Yuuto spoke against his better judgment. “There are always women willing to perform such acts and surely money isn’t an object.”

He didn’t like how Shido’s features darkened, his eyes downturned, his glasses falling a bit, leaving them uncovered.

“It’s not about money or pleasure.” He spoke with a steady, quiet voice. “It’s about power. It’s about letting somebody know I hold their life in my hands, living rent free in their head long after I’m gone.”

Yuuto didn’t reply.

“Let me tell you a story, Mr. Yamato.” He leaned back in his seat and took a luxurious sip of what Yuuto assumed was whiskey. “Long before I was the man I am today, there was a woman. She was exactly my type, beautiful and stupid.” He reminisced with fondness in his voice. “This isn’t a story of love, however. Not for me. For her maybe. Her love for me is what led to the end of her life. We met at a bar in Kichijoji, a classy place. They have a lot of jazz artists performing there. It’s a good time, you should take your wife there.” He chuckled to himself, but nobody else dare laugh. “I took her to another bar after they closed. The classy places, they don’t stay open all night. They try to avoid the riff raff, so they close early, you see. This other place is where the real fun begins. Now, I’ll admit, I’d had quite a bit to drink that night, so I don’t quite recall the name of the bar. My apologies, I must be an awful storyteller.” He knew that to be untrue, Yuuto noted. “She didn’t have any intention of sleeping with me that night, she’d told me. As I said, beautiful and stupid. She should have known from the minute she met me that she wouldn’t have a choice.”

Yuuto’s blood ran cold.

“I didn’t slip anything in her drink, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Shido laughed. “No, no. I wouldn’t do that. I have people for that.”

Yuuto felt disgusting.

“We made it to a love hotel later that night. She wasn’t quite all there, of course, be she consented. She was a  _ great _ lay. If I were a marrying man? I’d have thought about it with her. I’d be a liar if I said she wasn’t the best I’ve ever had. And you know me, I’m a lot of things, but a liar isn’t one of them.”

That’s a lie, Yuuto thought.

“She went to the police the next day. Luckily for her, she didn’t have my name. She’d have died a lot quicker if she had.” There was no sadness in his eyes. “Instead, she decided to perform her own little investigation. I was halfway impressed when she found me a couple of years later, however, finding me was her last mistake.”

Yuuto noted the dark tone Shido’s voice took. It would have been funny in any other situation. It reminded him of a morning drive show he used to listen to on his way to school every morning, when his dad would drop him off on the way to work.

“She lost her job shortly after that.” Shido laughed. “It just took one call to an old friend. She’d finally gotten back on her feet. You see, there was more than just a scorned lover. She’d gotten pregnant from our encounter and had a little boy. The bitch was too stupid to get rid of him. I imagine she loved him very much. She seemed the type. Goro, his name was. I always remember that. Bastards have their uses.” Yuuto thought he was going to be sick. He’d have left, gone home with his wife and turned over a new leaf, if he wasn’t so enraptured in this terrible tale. “She couldn’t find work after she reached out. Everywhere she applied was warned ahead of this awful woman, desperate for work. She couldn’t even get in as a maid. It’s a shame, too. She had the body for it.” He sighed. Yuuto would have taken it as remorse if he didn’t already know better. “She hanged herself shortly after, leaving behind the child. I lost track of him shortly after, which was of no consequence to me. It  _ is _ a shame that her actions against me led to his existence, but I take no fault for his mother’s actions.”

He sat up a bit straighter again and rested his elbows on the table. “Now, I bet you’re wondering why I’m telling you all this. Certainly no man would confess to these actions in jest.”

Yuuto nodded. He was nearly sweating through his brand new suit.

“What do you know of Kunikazu Okumura?”

“He’s one of my personal heroes, sir.” Yuuto’s voice was shaky. Had he not had his hands clasped on his lap, his hands would have been shaking as well. 

“Ah.” Shido said. “That’s a bit unfortunate.”

“Why?” 

“Well, a friend of mine is currently on a job for Okumura that will cost you a great deal. I suppose you understand that I wouldn’t tell the tale you just heard to somebody I expected to live to tell it.”

Yuuto’s heart sat somewhere near his colon at this point.

“If you must know what your mistake was, it’s fairly simple. You encroached upon a titan’s business practices and he felt you must be disposed of.”

Yuuto had no memories of the night after that. He only knew he woke up in his bed at home, in Tokyo, next to his beautiful wife, who he loved very much. They cooked breakfast together for their son. 

Work could wait. He was going to enjoy this. 

Every day from that day on was wonderful. Yuuto often wondered why he let the stress of business guide his actions.

===

“Mad Cow Burger owner Yuuto Yamato and his wife Miyako were found dead in their Okina hotel room Saturday evening. There are no signs of forced entry into the room and an autopsy will show if drugs are involved.” Shido didn’t smile often, but he found this to be good news. Okumura would be quite thrilled.

===

“I want mommy!” Takuto hated this. The three-year-old in front of him did nothing wrong, his only crime being born into a family that had a rivaling business to Takuto’s employer.

“I promise,” he kept his voice calm. He was good at that. “You’ll get to spend every day with your mommy and daddy.” He wasn’t used to speaking to the shadow of such a small child. “Azathoth…” he called forth his Persona.

To the rest of the world. Minoru Yamato was joining his parents in the afterlife.

If they only knew.

===

“I’m going to fuck that shadow up.” Ryuji winced at Kanji’s words. The second he spoke, the Phantom Thieves’ outfits changed. The shadow must have heard, thus making them enemies.

He received questioning looks from everyone not part of the Investigation Team.

“Let’s do it.” Narukami didn’t sound nearly as happy go lucky as he normally did. He started to run up towards the shadow but Ren stopped him.

“No. Sneak up on him. We can avoid attracting other shadows if we wipe him out quickly.” Yu nodded and they snuck back behind a playground; Ren ripped off the mask, not yelling any of his signature phrases this time. It was best to not attract attention.

The shadow disintegrated and reappeared as Bugs, a bear stuffed with human remains. Yukiko and Ann took it down quickly; it may have been a problem if they hadn’t had such a large group, but two fire users made matters trivial.

The child the shadow guarded started fleeing but Minako was already in his way, blocking the path.

She blocked him but tried to put her arms up in a way that showed she was not a threat. 

“I’m a friend, I promise.”

“Mommy told me not to talk to strangers!” The kid turned around and tried to climb to the top of the playground but couldn’t quite get there. His legs were still too short and he was a little chubby. 

“We aren’t strangers, kid.” Kanji approached the lower stairs that lead to the playground. “We’re friends, and we think there’s something weird going on here.”

The kid whimpered but nodded as well. He must’ve been around four or five years old, Kanji had guessed.

“Do you mind talking to us for a minute?” Makoto spoke, trying to use a voice similar to her father’s when he had to explain police matters. “We’re kind of like detectives. You could help us, if you want.”

“Oh! Love Line is a detective!” He brightened a bit. “I’ll help.” He started climbing down but he didn’t get close until he saw Yukari. “PINK ARGUS!?”

Ren nudged Minako and whispered. “Why didn’t we just lead with that?”

“That’s your job to figure out, Leader.” Minako spoke in a mocking tone.

Yukari walked closer. “How’d you guess?”

“Um. Yukari.” Mitsuru had been uncharacteristically quiet on their trek through this bizarro Tokyo. It seemed normal until, well, it didn’t. It felt artificial. “Check your outfit.”

“You guys get all these cool outfits and I dress like I’m going to work!?”

“At least you don’t have the luchador mask,” Kasumi said. Her and Sumire had been making note of everyone’s outfits so they could roast them later.

“I love Neo Featherman!” The kid was so excited to meet Takeba that he completely forgot his former plight. 

“What’s your name? I’m Yukari.” She was used to greeting fans, old and young. 

“I’m Minoru Yamato, I’m four years old and I really like…” the group listened to the child reel off everything he could think about himself for nearly a minute straight. 

“Breathe, kid,” Kanji stopped him. Minoru took a deep breath. “Are your parents here, too?”

“Mommy and daddy are busy right now.”

“What are they doing?”

“I dunno. But we live right over there.” He pointed at an older apartment building that Ren had recognized. It was on their walk from the station to Yu’s place. “Mommy said they needed adult time.”

“What time are you supposed to be home?” Naoto asked.

He held out four fingers. “4.”

“It’s about time for you to head back anyway. Would you mind if Makoto and I walked you back?” Naoto had a plan.

“Yeah. That’s okay.” He grabbed Makoto’s hand and started dragging her towards the building. “You’re pretty.” The group had a laugh at Makoto, who wasn’t quite used to being around children.

Naoto followed Minoru, who had dragged Makoto to the apartment’s elevator. She had to press the button for him. He was too short to reach it. 

“We live on the fifth floor in 12B.” His words sounded rehearsed; he must have struggled to remember where he lived at some point.

Naoto knocked on the door and a woman a bit taller than herself answered the door. She was pretty, her face round like Minoru’s. She had long black hair. She didn’t look dressed to leave the house, wearing an oversized shirt and pajama pants. What Naoto presumed was her husband was sitting on a couch sipping on coffee. He had short black hair, and was fairly skinny. He was sitting but she’d guessed he was around the same height as his wife.

“Hello, ma’am, my friends and I found your son playing outside.” 

The woman gave a polite smile. “Thank you, we were just about to go get him. Minoru, what’d I tell you about talking to strangers?”

“But mom! They’re detectives!” The man on the couch’s ears perked up upon hearing that and he looked over at the door.

“Detectives?”

Naoto introduced herself and Makoto and Yuuto introduced himself. It helped that Naoto’s Metaverse outfit wasn’t all that different from a typical Sherlock Holmes getup. Makoto’s would be a bit hard to explain.

“To what do I owe the honor?”

Makoto knew her father struggled to face reality after he was removed from Maruki’s world; she didn’t know if that would always be the case. She supposed asking about Shido would be the proper direction to go. 

“I was wondering if you had any information on Masayoshi Shido.” She spoke with some trepidation.

“Ah! You guys finally got to my report!” He was downright jovial.

“Your report?” Naoto asked.

“I’d filed a police report a few months ago. I’d had dinner with Shido. I’ll admit, I was trying to get in his good graces. I take it you don’t know much of his exploits?” Naoto shook her head. It was a lie, but he may have information on how this place works based on that. “He confessed to many crimes that night and I don’t know why. I feel as though I were invited as to have me trapped but I woke up in my own bed. I filed a report with the Tokyo PD the next day relaying everything he told me but they said it was already taken care of. I assumed he was in jail. I haven’t heard much about it.”

Neither Makoto nor Naoto knew what to say.   
“Judging from your reactions, something isn’t right.”

“No, sir.” Makoto didn’t know how to break it to him. “What I’m about to tell you is very uncomfortable but I won’t sugarcoat it.”

Yuuto nodded. His wife was in the other room with Minoru.

“You’re living in an alternate reality.”

He looked like he didn’t want to believe her but he didn’t argue. “I suspected something was wrong when Shido stopped coming after me.”

“You were right to be suspicious.” Naoto confirmed for him. “We’re concerned your family are the victims of a mental shutdown.”

“But I thought that meant death?” He showed visible confusion.

They ignored his question, not because they didn’t want to answer it but because they didn’t really have a good way to.

“Would you like to return to the real world?” Naoto wasn’t really giving him a choice, but he seemed cognizant that something wasn’t right.

He mulled over her question. “Can I talk to my wife about it?” Naoto nodded.

“We can come back in an hour.” 

===

Naoto and Makoto informed the group they were opting to stay nearby while the Yamato’s made their decision, leaving everyone else with some decisions to make, besides Goro. He wanted to stay with Makoto.

“I think our best bet,” Ren said, “is to as many people as we can pile into Morgana. Mona, how many people can you fit?”

“I’m a 15 passenger van, so that many.” The not-a-cat quirked his head. “Mona?”

“Sorry, old habit.”

“Nah, I love it.”

Ren went back to addressing the group. “Fuuka, I want you to lead group A. That means Minato, Mitsuru, Akihiko and Aigis.”

“I’m on it.”

“Group B will be Yu, Yosuke, Chie and Yukiko. Rise, I want you to be their navigator.”

“Yu likes it when I boss him around.” Shiho made a mock vomiting noise before Ann nudged her in the ribs.

“I’ll lead group C. Ann, Ryuji, Shiho, Mona, you’re with me. Mona, you’re nav, if you can handle it.”

“Like there’s anything I can’t handle.” ‘As full of shit as ever,’ Ren thought.

“Groups D and E, you’re on a separate mission. I want you to explore the city, what you can of it. Look for other victims. Take shadows out quietly, if you can. We need to keep security levels low. It doesn’t seem like the cognitions here can see the shadows but we don’t want to bank on that.”

“What’s group D?” Minako asked.

“Minako, you’re the leader. Yukari, Sumire, Kasumi and Rio will follow. Group E will be led by Kanji but you’re going to be following Minako’s lead. That will be Teddie, Yuuki, Yosuke and Tae. Minako, you’re in charge of protecting them if something happens. Futaba, you’re their navigator.”

“Sweet!”

“We all ready to go?” Minato asked. 

“It’s showtime.”

===

Groups A, B and C piled into the Morganamobile and took off down the road towards the research lab. Morgana was able to move pretty quickly and luckily Mitsuru had a driver’s license, just in case they ran into any cognitive cops. They didn’t, but it was a weird paranoid thought that Ren had. They’d exited the residential neighborhood and entered the same area where Sae’s Casino had been; the research lab was in one of those buildings near the courthouse. They knew they were getting close because the area was swarming with more shadows than Ren had ever seen in one place, like they were drawn there. 

“Mitsuru, you can hit the shadows with the car.”

“What?”

“Seriously, I used to do it all the time.”

“Ren! She’ll ruin my finish!” Morgana cried.

“Mona, I promise, you’ll be fine. The shadows won’t leave a dent.”

“You’re paying the bill if I get damaged.”

A thunk and a splat, and Mitsuru had successfully committed a hit and run on a shadow without leaving a mark on Morgana.

“That was incredible! Let’s go again!” Morgana’s qualms were officially pushed aside.

Ren knew they were heading into a serious situation but it was hard to ignore the jovial nature of everyone on the bus. Listening to Akihiko and Minato bicker while Mitsuru got exasperated with their “macho bullshit,” as she called it, reminded him of their annual beach trip from the first few times through. Yosuke and Chie were taking turns making Yukiko lose her shit while Yu conversed with Rise and Ryuji about god knows what. Ren was just happy Ryuji could behave himself around Risette.

The building was more intimidating up close than it was from far away, and given it haunted the city from every direction, that was an impressive feat. A great feeling of unease fell over the group. The shadows surrounding the buildings had dispersed as though they were being welcomed as guests; their outfits stayed the same.

===

Minako knew her group was a bit rag tag but she felt this was where she belonged. Yukari and Kanji were more than capable as second in commands and Tae could at least be the adult in the room if any of the younger members acted up. Rio knew her place and took this seriously. Yuuki seemed completely harmless to a fault, as though he might be too scared to fight. Yusuke was more interested in everyone’s outfits, specifically Teddie’s, who had been back inside the bear suit for the first time in quite awhile.

“It’s so hideous!” Yusuke exclaimed upon their separation. “It’s wonderful! This type of art has always escaped me, the jarring color differential, the overly round shape. And the voice! This is truly a masterpiece creation! You must tell me where you found it.”

“I was born this way,” Teddie was getting annoyed with Yusuke. “And I’m not hideous, I’m beartiful!”

Minako sighed. “Keep tryin’, Teddie.”

Tae gave a huff. “He reminds me of the weird clowns we used to have visit the children’s ward at the hospital.” 

Rio gave a small laugh. “He’s not nearly that creepy.”

Traveling on foot wasn’t as fun as taking the bus but the explore group was all happier to stay in the neighborhoods where there were less shadows. In this particular neighborhood, there weren’t any shadows, just people walking down the street and cars driving down the street.

“You guys see everyone’s faces?” Kanji spoke with an uncharacteristic worry in his voice.

“I was trying to avoid thinking about it but now that you say it,” Kasumi trailed off.

“It’s pretty fucking creepy, if you ask me.” Tae didn’t sound as scared as the rest of them.

They kept walking further down the street in the direction of Shujin Academy; Yu’s apartment wasn’t all that far away from Aoyama-Itchome. Souji could have walked to school if he wanted to, Kasumi knew, but he enjoyed hanging out with Chie so he let her drive him. The closer they got to the school, the more shadows they ran into. 

“There’s a lot of energy surrounding that school. I can sense four powerful shadows. I don’t know what they’re guarding but I bet it’s a target.” Futaba was sure Minako could handle it without the noobs.

“Are they inside the school?” Minako replied.

“Would it be easier if they weren’t?” Futaba shot back.

“Yes.” Minako said flatly.

“Then they’re in the school.” 

“I blame you.”

===

Groups A, B and C entered the building with a shadow guard escort that had all of them unsettled. The shadows showed no aggression; Narukami was even able to get one to bullshit with him about the weather for a minute.

Ren couldn’t decide if he was impressed or annoyed. 

“Hello, friends.” Takuto Maruki greeted them from atop a white staircase that rose from behind reception. His outfit was white outlined with gold; he looked like an obnoxious, over the top good guy professional wrestler with that cape. Ren didn’t care to learn what was underneath. The room was bright, full of natural light bouncing off the marble floors. It reminded Ren of a hospital. “I’m thrilled to see you all.” 

“That’s not usually how people about to have their heart changed greet us.” Ren tried to reply politely but he already hated this guy from their previous interactions. 

“Ah, but don’t you remember? I  _ asked _ you to change my heart not all that long ago.” His smile was uncomfortably friendly. “When Wakaba stopped returning my calls, I assumed this was coming soon.”

“ _ I told you _ ,” Morgana meowed at his owner. 

“See, Wakaba? Morgana didn’t let business get in between our friendship.” 

“We were never friends!”

Ren thought Maruki was giving a stereotypical evil-villain quip but he looked genuinely hurt when Morgana said that.

Narukami interrupted his hurt look with a question. “Excuse me, Mr. uh, Marukyu?”

“Maruki.”

“Right. What is it that you would say you do here?” 

Maruki was going to answer the question until he watched several of the group ambushing his distortion rubbing their temples. “I assure you, that has nothing to do with me, if you’ve all come down with some sort of migraine.”

“No.” Rise pointed at her boyfriend. “It’s his stupid jokes.”

“Oh.”

“Have you ever seen Office Spa- oh, nevermind. Just, Yu, you’re a fucking dumbass.” Ren didn’t have time for this. “Can we get on with this? You asked me to do this.”

“You’re right, I did ask you to do this. But don’t think I’m just going to go down easy. I had an ulterior motive.”

“No shit, bud. Seriously, you’ve got a palace that encompasses the entire world.” Minato was the one providing the sass this time.

Maruki’s eyes narrowed. “I didn’t ask for this.”

“But you sure as hell did something with it.” Minato gave a hard stare back.

“Hostility notwithstanding, I have somebody I’d like you to meet. I think he’ll look familiar to the Phantom Thieves among you.”

Two shadows approached Maruki’s side, but he backed off and was replaced by a slim figure in a black and navy striped outfit. His mask was black with a pointy nose. A tall, black and white striped humanoid figure with jagged joints and a flame sword appeared behind it. A distorted voice Ren recognized far too well called “Call of Chaos!”

Ren wasn’t sure why he recognized the two shadows that Maruki summoned. He’d never fought Fafnir or Hastur as far as he knew. They looked completely different from anything he’d ever seen, but their strengths and weaknesses were imprinted on his mind, much like any other Persona. He could even recall seeing them in the compendium. And he knew they were tough. With Call of Chaos, the groups would struggle. 

“Group A! You take Fafnir! B! You take Hastur!” He took a deep breath. “Thieves! We’ve got Loki.” Ren hoped a shadow version of Akechi would be less of a pain in the ass.

“Shiho, he’s weak to bless!” Morgana shouted. Ren had known that already but Morgana picking up on that was reassuring.

“Eris! Kouga!” The move hit but Shiho was far too low level to do much damage. Loki responded by slashing at her with his sword, which Ren was able to counter with a well timed summoning of Chi You, reflecting the damage wright back at him. Evil Akechi groaned in pain at taking so much damage. Ann and Ryuji both acted next, Ann trying to put it to sleep to no avail and Ryuji used a Tarukaja on Shiho. 

She cast another bless skill that worked better this time, knocking down Loki and causing Akechi to cry out in pain.

“This isn’t the real thing!” Ren saw his friend’s faces fall knowing what they were doing to their friend. “This just looks like him. It’s a cognition, remember that.”

The Thieves performed an all out attack; Joker ended it with a bullet to cognitive Akechi’s head. He had to cover his eyes while he did the deed.

He took a deep breath, then watched on as group A finished taking care of Fafnir. B had finished off Hastur much earlier. 

“That Fafnir guy was a bitch and a half,” Akihiko said upon returning to the team.

“Seriously, we’ve never fought someone that tough.”

“Don’t you dare say that was fun, either of you.” Mitsuru’s tone shut up both men. “Had Minato not been prepared, we would have died.”

“Oh, please, Aigis had it covered.” Ren wasn’t sure if Minato was serious or if he was just trying to bother Mitsuru. He hadn’t seen Aigis fight yet.

“Indeed. I could have wasted him in minutes if I was allowed.”

“Hey, Minato, you hear that? Aigis just said you hold her back.” Akihiko joked but Aigis didn’t pick up on that.

“That was not my intention.”

“We know.”

“Oh. That’s good.”

===

Groups D and E had entered the school to find the volleyball team leaving practice. Most of them had the same creepy smiles from before plastered on their face except for one. 

“Kana-chan!” Yuuki ran up to an extremely tall second-year that could probably be described as statuesque and wrapped her in a hug without any warning. “I’m so glad you’re safe.”

“Yuuki? What? I thought you transferred?” The girl was very confused. ‘Wow,’ Minako thought. ‘She’s literally taller than  _ all _ of us.’ Looking up at her almost hurt her neck. She had to be around 6’4. ‘Poor girl. Finding shoes must be impossible.’

“Yuuki, who’s the amazon you’re speaking to?” Yusuke sure had a way with words.

“Amazon!? Just because I’m tall doesn’t mean I-”

“Kana-chan, he doesn’t get that he’s insulting you. Sorry.”

“By no means was I insulting her. Why, with such a reach, she never needs a step stool!”

Minako grabbed Yusuke by the ear. “I thought this was going smoothly.”

“Ouch.” 

“Yuuki, what are you doing here?” 

“I could ask the same of you. How long have you been here?”

“At school? I came back a few months ago.” She looked around. “Why are you all dressed so weird?”

“Umm.”

===

Kana Hasegawa had made the mistake of being happy when Shujin hired Suguru Kamoshida to be their new volleyball coach and gym teacher. The man was a national hero. Who wouldn’t be thrilled?

The nightmare started almost immediately. She stayed after school one day to meet the coach with Katsuo Suzuki. They weren’t what Kana would call  _ best friends _ but they both had a mutual obsession with volleyball, and this guy was supposed to be legit.

The worst part of her situation is, he was legit. He definitely knew his stuff when it came to volleyball but he didn’t know much else. Katsuo would know. She was the first person he propositioned for sex when he got there; her saying yes probably led him to believe that other girls would, too.

“It wouldn’t be so bad if he actually knew what he was doing, honestly,” Katsuo had complained to Kana, and a couple other girls on the team. “He thinks he’s doing this weird domination thing, but mostly everything he does just hurts, and not in the good way.”

Kana winced multiple times through her description and decided then and there Kamoshida was getting a nice, loud fuck off when he tried with her. She knew he would, eventually. 

The day he did, he wasn’t taking ‘no’ for an answer.

Her family worked tirelessly to get him held accountable. They had proof; they’d gone to the hospital and the police immediately after. Yet nothing was done. Every single time there was good news, bad news followed. They couldn’t get Kamoshida on anything. It was like the police refused to do anything to this Olympic hero.

Things felt like they were at their worst when one day, Kana just woke up, and Kamoshida was gone. She went back to Shujin for the first time in a few weeks. Their old coach was back like nothing had happened. Katsuo was there; she had disappeared shortly after her time complaining about Kamoshida. It was good to see her again; her disappearance left the whole team unsettled.

The team improved drastically. Practices were a breeze, they never lost a game, everything seemed perfect. Too perfect.

===

“I’m not really how to tell you this.” Yuuki said. 

“Maybe you aren’t the person to explain it, kid,” Tae interrupted. “Let Minako do it. She’s got more of an idea what’s going on.”

Kana looked at Minako. She hadn’t recognized her at all. She hadn’t recognized any of these strangely dressed people. Maybe the girl in the blue coat. She looked like one of the kids that had visited for orientation.

“You were the victim of a mental shutdown.” Minako put it as straight as she could. “Somebody with a connection to Masayoshi Shido wanted you to be quiet about what happened.”

“Shido? Like the politician?” Kana was extremely confused. “I don’t believe you.”

“Do you want proof? We can take you back.”

“You’re offering proof? Shit. I don’t believe you, but I’ve got nothing else going on. It sounds like a good time.” Yuuki wasn’t surprised at her response but he was earning weird looks from literally everyone else in the group. Kana was a good friend before he transferred, so he was used to the nonchalance.

“You said Katsuo was here. Can we see her?”

“Oh, yeah! She’s totally gonna wanna hear about this.”

She led them out to the front gate where Katsuo was waiting for her.

“Kat, look who I found!” She greeted her friend outside; Rio definitely remembered her from orientation. She was the libero on the team she met at orientation. This was the girl Rio was supposed to be learning from; perhaps it was some sort of joke played on her by fate that ‘Kat,’ as Kana had called her, was about as normal looking as Dr. Takemi. She was short and built similarly to Sumire, with bright dyed purple hair, a stud in her nose and a ring in her lip. No way this would have flown with Shujin’s dress code, although she supposed Ryuji never got much guff over his.

“Yuuki?” She perked right up. “I thought you transferred! What’s with the outfit? And the mask?” Yuuki had quite liked his Metaverse outfit. The black slacks fit well and the combat boots were comfortable. He wasn’t a fan of his school’s blazer but he had a black one with a green undershirt that he thought he looked pretty good in. Kat agreed. “Actually, you don’t have to explain. It’s weird, but it fits you.”

“Yeah, give me guff, why’d you do that to your hair?” Yuuki bounced back.

“Fair point.”

“Don’t you guys have something to talk to Kat about?”

“Yeah. Right.” Minako repeated the rehearsed line. “You were a victim of Kamoshida and somebody connected to Masayoshi Shido wanted you to shut up so they gave you a mental shutdown. We’re here to rescue you.”

“Oh.” Kat looked dumbfounded, then smacked her forehead. “Shit! I knew something felt off.”

“You did?” It was either Rio, Kasumi, or Kana that spoke, or perhaps they all spoke at the same time.

“Yeah, dude. Hasn’t this shit seemed weird? The smiles, too, dude. I miss seeing a real smile.”

Kana thought for a second. “Yeah. I get exactly what you mean.”

Kat didn’t even give it another thought. “I can go back? Like, things can be normal again?”

“Yep!” Minako was surprised how well this was going.

“Dope. I wonder if my mom ever got that puppy.”

“Oh! I want to see the puppy!” Sumire had been oddly quiet the whole way to the school.

“Yeah, hey coach, can we get a puppy?” Kasumi asked Minako.

“I’m not your coach anymore.” She paused. “I’m sure Ken will let me borrow Koromaru for a bit.”

“How old is Koromaru?”

“I’d rather not think about that.” Minako frowned. “But he’s got a Persona.”

“I WANT IT!” Sumire and Kasumi shouted at the same time, catching the attention of a nearby shadow.

“I really thought Teddie would be the first one to fuck up,” Yukari told Kanji. 

They were attacked by three shadows but they made short work of them. It was a three pronged team of Ippon Dotara, Eligor and a Queen Mab for good measure, none of which posed a threat. Even Yuuki and Yusuke had fought stronger in their one other journey into a palace. 

“Well, I’m fully convinced.” Kana said. “What the fuck are those things?”

“Personas. Although, we’d appreciate it if you didn’t say anything about them once you get home.” Minako said.

“Nobody would believe me anyway.”

“Hey, Futaba, can you get a message to Fuuka?”

“I think so, why?”

“We’re going to go grab Naoto and Makoto. We can get these guys out then join the rest of the group at the distortion.” Minako thought they’d be of use.

“Are we done exploring?” Futaba asked. “I’ve found a couple other targets we could hit instead. If they don’t need our help, we could do that.”

“Send the message out, then we’ll make that decision.”

===

“Miyako, how long have you known something was wrong?”

“I noticed something was off in March when you stopped treating me like shit.”

“Oh.” Yuuto had a guilty look on his face. “I… don’t think an apology is going to mean much, is it?”

“Yuuto, I just want you to be there for me and Minoru. It took us coming to this weird dopey hellscape where nothing ever goes wrong for you to stop being abusive.”

This was a bad look, Yuuto knew. Life here was just so stress free. He didn’t want to leave, but it was unfair to Miyako and Minoru to make them stay. He sighed.

“We can leave.” 

“And we can discuss your behavior when we get back.”

“Yes, dear.”

===

Groups D and E, along with Makoto, Naoto, and their five refugees, made it back to Narukami’s apartment without incident. Once back in the real world, Yuuto and his family were quick to leave. Yuuto wanted to file a police report, pronto. Then he wanted to find a way to regain control of his company. He promised his wife he wouldn’t let the stress get to him this time.

Katsuo, meanwhile, immediately called her mother before doing anything else. 

“Mom. It’s Kat.”

The cries of joy could be heard by everyone in the room. Apparently, Kat had gone missing months ago. Her phone was full of calls and texts from concerned family and classmates.

“Does this mean I lose my spot on the volleyball team?” Rio asked nobody in particular. 

“Oh, I don’t know about that. You could always send Orpheus after Junpei. That always worked for Minako.” Yukari quipped and Minako laughed.

“I’m not endorsing that plan, but it does work. Just saying.”

===

The other three groups, meanwhile, had hit a roadblock. They’d gone down a long hallway with many doors on the right side that all contained pieces of unreadable research written with no uniform language that Wakaba could tell. More than likely, Takuto’s distortion was so large that it couldn’t process the amount of information it would take to make the world fully immersive, similar to a video game. How much data could the human heart truly hold?

They fought what Ren assumed was supposed to be a mini boss before their roadblock; it was another Fafnir that would have been trouble if it weren’t for Yu deciding he was bored and unleashing a Megidolaon on it. Ren joined in the fun and then Minato followed. After that, a voice came over the intercom.

“While watching you fight has been thrilling, I must ask you to leave, if only for today,” Maruki’s voice came over the speaker. “I did not expect you to get this far and I’m not yet prepared for our encounter. Your friends in the city have caused quite the disturbance.”

“We’ll take you down today, asshole!” Ryuji shouted. Shiho and Ann backed him up with shouts of their own but Ren was focused on what was coming next.

“Ah, but that is an impossibility.” Maruki’s voice showed sadness. “You won’t find shadows any further, but you will find a steel wall preventing you from proceeding. It will not yield to you in your current state.”

“What do you mean?” Minato asked.

“That, my friends, is for you to find out. Have a nice trip home.”

In a blink, they were back in Narukami’s apartment. Ren gave a frustrated grunt, then took them all back to the real world.

“I guess we’re done for today, guys.”

===

_ Evening _

Kat’s mom  _ had _ gotten that puppy and she was more excited to meet him than she was to be home. 

“Do I… go to school tomorrow?” She’d asked her mom. The adorable Shiba Inu puppy rolled over onto its back as Kat held a chew toy out for him.

“Do you really want to go back to Shujin after everything that’s happened?”

“Well, Kobayakawa and Kamoshida are gone, right?” Her mother shook her head. “If Kana goes back, I’ll go back.” She checked her phone. “Speak of the devil…”

“Kana, hey, what’s up?”

“You check your phone at all?”

“Not really. My mom got a puppy! His name is Akira and he’s the sweetest little guy.” 

“Okay, that’s an acceptable distraction.” Kana laughed. “You need to introduce me.”

“I will. Tomorrow?”

“I’ll be there. What time?”

“Dunno, dude, not like we have school. Anyway, what’d you call me for?”

“Oh! I’ve got this weird app on my phone. It’s this black eye on a red background.”

Kat looked down at her phone, putting Kana on speaker while she checked. The app was there on her phone. “And it’s got a search bar asking about a person, distortion and location?”

“Yeah!” Kana’s voice failed to hide her excitement.

“Didn’t they say something about distortion?”

“That’s right. They did.”

“Should we, um, ask somebody?”

They went back and forth deciding on what to do. Ultimately, they decided it would be easiest to corner Rio. She was a tiny person, and Shiho was scary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A two parter, because 14k words is too much for one chapter. 
> 
> I like to think these next two chapters set the tone for the rest of the story. Kana and Katsuo were named way earlier and I had zero idea how to include them. 
> 
> I don't have much else to say. I really felt like I glossed over Shido's shitbaggery and there's a lot of setup for the future in this chapter. We're reaching the end of my detailed outline, so for the millionth time, chapter drops will probably slow. Hopefully I'm lying again.


	35. Gentle Madman, Part 2

_ Sunday, June 5th, Early Morning _

Takuto Maruki laid in his bed with a wet cloth on his forehead and a bucket next to him. He hadn’t had to use it but his stomach was making these awful gurgling noises that weren’t helpful to the migraine that accompanied his illness. His saliva had the same bitter metallic taste that he associated with nausea. Leaving his bed wasn’t an option today. 

His fever wasn’t breaking any time soon, he knew. He was still in that stage of being simultaneously cold and hot. 

‘This timing couldn’t be worse.’

===

Ren struggled to sleep that night; seeing an evil Akechi, even just the shadow of one, set off too many feelings and he couldn’t process all of them at once. The existence of a shadow Akechi must mean that a still-evil version of Goro was still out there somewhere. Or that still-evil Goro was inside of the Goro he thought of as a dear friend. 

Both answers led to horrifying conclusions that prevented Ren from sleeping. 

When he finally did sleep, he was welcomed into an atmosphere not all that different from LeBlanc’s. Igor sat at his usual spot at the end of the bar, stacks of tarot cards and paperwork in front of him. ‘It’s weird that even in this weird place, he’s still stuck doing paperwork.’ 

Igor looked up from his drink. The only attendant in the Velvet Room right now was Lavenza, who greeted Ren enthusiastically.

“Trickster!” She tackled him into a hug. If he hadn’t braced himself, he’d have fallen over. He thought she was happy to see him but she had tears in her eyes. His shirt had damp spots. They broke their hug and Igor gave a polite laugh. 

“Your presence has been greatly missed, Trickster.” His words sounded kind but Ren was never going to be able to get past his unblinking, bloodshot eyes. “It is now that your game is truly beginning. Your escape is nigh and an important choice is coming. I expect you to keep your word that you will take responsibility for  _ all _ of your actions.”

“I don’t see why I would back out now.” Ren took a seat next to Igor. “Care to give me some hints for my future? This whole ‘going in blind’ thing is new to me.”

Igor gave a chuckle and a reply. “Ah, but how different would our relationship be if I just  _ gave _ you the answers.”

Lavenza interrupted. “You will know soon enough, Trickster.”

The light faded and Ren awoke in his bed at LeBlanc.

===

Goro didn’t recognize himself. He looked down at his white suit with gold trim. His vision had a red outline. ‘This is a bit over the top, isn’t it?’ He had a saber he didn’t recognize at his side and he could feel the presence of a Persona that wasn’t his. He could feel Robin Hood in place of Abel. He searched his own heart for Abel to no avail. Instead, he found another terrifying Persona he hoped to never feel again. 

He could feel himself speaking to a man standing across from him in adversarial fashion; a black tailcoat, red gloves, frizzy black hair. It was definitely Ren standing in front of him. Goro couldn’t understand his own words. He removed his glove, throwing it at Ren.

Then he woke up.

===

Sumire felt the unfamiliar upward creeping of tendrils covering her body, heard the cry of an endangered Cendrillon, then a calm voice she had only heard once. 

“I wish it hadn’t come to this.”

She felt pain, then nothing.

Then she awoke. She was being carried, Joker holding her like a child in his arms. He carried her to safety.

She awoke a third time; this time noticing the softness of her favorite blanket and the obnoxious noise of her sister’s snoring.

===

“Are you fucking serious!?”

Ren had to remove the phone’s receiver from his ear. Apparently today was page design day, which he was supposed to help with. He swore up and down that Keiko hadn’t told him anything about the design day, so he argued back. Then he called her back immediately when he went back through his messages, realized he had told her he’d be there, then called her back.

“How long does this usually take?”

“Well, we’ve only got a four page paper today, so five or six hours.”

“Ah. That,” Ren gritted his teeth. “Doesn’t sound too bad.”

“Okay! I’ll see you soon!”

Ren set his phone down and plopped into a stool in front of Sojiro, he set a cup of coffee in front of him. His phone buzzed.

**FS:** F in the chat for Ren’s journalism career.

**RF:** F

**RS:** F

**SS:** F

**MN:** You get kicked off already?

**RA:** I have prior commitments.

**RS:** ur fault for joining the club

**AT:** yea. You knew you didn’t have time.

**GA:** reach out for the truth, Ren.

**SY:** Why don’t you just join us from the school?

**RA:** what?

**SY:** we jumped in from Yu’s apartment and ended up in Yu’s apartment

**MN:** so you could jump in from the school and end up in the school!

**KY:** wow, my sis is so smart, stealing that idea from me

**SY:** wtf r u on about

**KY:** I just said that

**SY:** no you didn’t!

Ren went and got dressed in some casual clothes. No school uniform needed on Sunday.

He’d have to apologize to Boss for needing to sully his curry’s good name when he got to school. He hadn’t much experience in pretending to be sick but hopefully he could convince Keiko.

He exited LeBlanc and headed to the station when he got a text message.

**SY:** In case you were wondering, I won

Sumire sent a selfie. She had a giant grin and it looked like she was sitting on Kasumi’s back with one arm wrapped around her ankle, pulling back. Kasumi was looking back at Sumire, the pain etched on her face.

**RA:** that’s one for the scrapbook

===

The group, sans Ren, met at Narukami’s apartment again. 

“Where’s Amamiya?” Mitsuru had shown up a bit later than everyone.

“He had to help design pages.” Sumire said. She didn’t appreciate the tone Mitsuru used to ask the question.

“What?” Mitsuru asked angrily.

“Like, the newspaper. He’s in the newspaper club.” Sumire said calmly. “They print Monday mornings, so he can’t just back out on Keiko. He’ll join us later.”

Mitsuru was seeing red at this juncture. “Is he not taking this seriously at all?”

“Do you think he’s not? He’s joining us later. He’ll just be entering from the school.” Sumire sighed. “It’s not that long of a walk anyway.”

Mitsuru thought about it for a minute. “I suppose it’s not. I’ll allow it.”

“Good thing it was your choice to make, I guess.” Mitsuru couldn’t believe she thought Sumire was quiet.

The room was oddly quiet, most people listening to their exchange.

Tae, Kanji and Rio were the only ones not paying attention, caught up in a long discussion that involved something the rest of the group was almost certain they didn’t want to hear. Aigis was the only one that picked up on it. She tapped Teddie on the shoulder.

“Teddie-san. What is a bong?”

“That’s a funny word. I don’t know, though. I’ve never heard of it.”

“Hey, Kanji!” Teddie said loud enough for everyone to hear. “What’s a bong?”

===

This whole page design thing wasn’t happening. Ren knew within minutes that whatever the program was- InDesign- was going to fight him every step of the way. It helped that the content was all prepared already, but the editing wouldn’t be that hard. He had every literature lesson he’d ever had memorized and the newspaper style wasn’t that difficult to learn. 

Regardless, Ren had a delusional shitbag to fight.

“Hey, I’ll be back in a little bit,” Ren told Keiko. He’d been working for about an hour.

“Yeah, it’s probably good to take a break.” Keiko decided it was time for a break, herself. Her and Ren walked together, him to the bathroom, her to the vending machines in the courtyard. “Sorry for yelling at you earlier.”

“It’s alright. I’ve been flaking on you. Joining was my idea.” Ren felt bad for what he was about to do.

“You seriously have to stop doing that.” 

“I don’t plan on doing it again.”

“I only let you join because you wouldn’t fuck off. I don’t know why I’m giving you this long of a leash.” Her voice echoed through the empty halls.

“It’s because I’m pretty,” Ren said, smirking.

“I’ll slap that smile off your face.” Keiko trudged ahead. If he wasn’t such a dumbass, he’d be charming.

Ren had turned off into the men’s room a few seconds after she threatened him and she continued her walk until she passed the principal’s office. A familiar head of purple hair was sitting in a chair in front of Ushimaru, who had been acting as principal until the school board could find a new one. Keiko stopped and listened from the doorway. ‘What kind of self respecting reporter wouldn’t eavesdrop? Kat’s been missing for months!’

“I have to say, Katsuo, we were all concerned when you disappeared.”

“As were we, sir,” Katsuo’s mother replied. “She just appeared home yesterday. She doesn’t remember anything.”

“And everything seems normal?”

“No bruises, no trauma, nothing that we can tell.”

“Katsuo, what have you to say?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you, man.” Keiko wanted to laugh at her talking to Ushimaru like that but she didn’t want to give up her location. “These dudes showed up at school one day, told me I was in the wrong place. Later that day I was at home and mom said I was missing.”

“That’s preposterous.”

“Dude, I know. Major bummer. She got a puppy, though. Wanna see?”

“If you can pass a drug test, you can start on Monday.”

“Dope, dude, I haven’t smoked in months.”

“Kat!” Her mother didn’t sound happy.

This was big news! This needed to be in tomorrow’s paper! She still needed to put pages together though… but now she had an assistant!

Keiko pulled out her phone and texted Ren. “Katsuo is here. Talk to her and get her story.”

Ren was still in the restroom trying to make sure he had all of his equipment for the Metaverse.

“Son of a bitch.”

Ren texted her back. “Okay.” This shouldn’t take long. He went and waited outside of the principal’s office. Out came a short girl with bright purple hair; they gave Ryuji a hard time about his bleached hair and Ren couldn’t imagine the trouble this girl was getting into.

“I’m Ren Amamiya, with the school paper. I’m new, so I don’t quite know your name but Keiko told me you were missing? She wants me to get your story.”

“Ah, how’s that nosey little creep? Sure, I got time if mom’ll let me.”

Her mom just gave her a look then walked away, like she’d given up.

Ren knew of Katsuo because Sumire gave him all the details when they got back to Narukami’s apartment. Luckily, her mother had walked away so Ren could just be out with it, instead of secretive.

“Uh. I don’t really know how to conduct an interview.” Ren didn’t have a notebook on him, but he did have his phone, so he decided to make use of the voice memo feature. “Can I just record?”

Katsuo didn’t have an issue with it. “What happened to you?”

“Something bad happened with Kamoshida but I don’t remember it. He get the boot?” Ren nodded. “What about fatso?” 

“Um. He’s dead.”

“Ah. Sick. Hated that fat fuck.” Ren was thinking of warning her that she’s on record but a student calling Kobayakawa a fat fuck wasn’t news. It happened on a daily basis, even now that he was dead. “Anywhosits, we went to the police or somethin’. Ol’ Spikey McPervertson kept showing up at my house and followin’ me home. Like, a couple days later I was back at school. Kamoshida was gone and everyone had this creepy ass smile on their face.”

“What did it look like?”

“Dunno, dude. Like, they couldn’t not smile. Like it was forced.” Ren nodded. “People were too nice. Everythin’ felt perfect but fucked.”

“How’d you get back?”

“I was told not to say anythin’. Probably already gonna get in trouble for tellin’ ya what I told ya. Something to do with mental shutdowns.” Ren couldn’t help but chuckle a little bit. “Mishima was there. I didn’t recognize anyone else.” She pulled out her phone. “I got this weird app from it, though.” Ren tried not to react.

“Who do you think they were?”

“Man. We’re tryin’ to find out. Kana’s back, too. We know they had a kid we knew with ‘em. Rio? She sound familiar?”

Ren nodded. “I think that’s about all I’ll need.”

“A’ight dude.” She started to walk away but her and Ren were heading in the same direction. “Let me get your number. You’re cute.”

“I’ve got a girlfriend, but thanks. Don’t let her hear you say that.”

“Why?”

“I just got a text that she threatened to fistfight Mitsuru Kirijo.”

Kat didn’t respond. Ren decided to let that marinate.

===

Ren had zero idea how to write a news story, so he pulled up one of Ohya’s stories and followed the format. If he’d learned anything in the last 112 years, it’s that people don’t mind reading the same patterns over and over again. He also knew that Keiko might let him leave if he turned in this story soon, and he wouldn’t have to lie. 

_ After several months away from school, Katsuo Suzuki met with Interim Principal Ushimura on Sunday to see about returning to class. _

_ When asked where she’d been, Suzuki replied with an answer as confusing as her disappearance. _

_ “Something bad happened with Kamoshida that I don’t remember it,” Suzuki said. She then asked where they were, and was happy to hear Kamoshida is no longer employed. “Anywhosits, we went to the police or something. Ol’ Spikey McPervertson kept showing up at my house and following me home. Couple days later, I was back at school. Kamoshida was gone.” _

_ Suzuki said the school she was at, which was a near perfect imitation of Shujin, had students but they held creepy smiles on their faces. _

_ “Dude, it was like they couldn’t not smile,” Suzuki said. “It was forced. They were nice. Everything felt perfect but fucked.” _

_ Suzuki said a group of people, some student-aged, saved her but she was sworn to secrecy. She wondered if her case is related to the mental shutdown incidents. _

_ This marks the second time Shujin has been linked to the incidents. Students Shiho Suzui, Ann Takamaki and Rio Fujinami were the only survivors in a train accident related to the incidents. _

_ Suzuki also confirmed that Kana Hasegawa, another student that disappeared around the same time, has returned home and is returning to Shujin. _

“How the  _ fuck _ did you get all this?” Ren wasn’t sure if Keiko was thrilled or furious. “The dailies can’t get a victim to go on record but  _ you _ do? On your first god damn story?”

“Uh. Beginner’s luck?” Ren tried to play it off.

“Fuck it. We’re running it. Congrats on your first byline. Now fuck off. I’m going to go cry.”

===

Minato took charge in Ren’s absence, leading the large group through the city. They didn’t want to go after Maruki until they had Ren with them. Minako had fought hard to get Mitsuru to let the Phantom Thieves take the lead and her and Minato weren’t going to let her backtrack. 

Mitsuru probably would have fought harder to be the decision maker if it weren’t for the uniquely unsettling gaze of the barely-younger Yoshizawa twin.

Shadow Tokyo, as Yu had called it, was far different today than it was on their first trip in. The skies were gloomy and grey, threatening rain. The shadows were numerous but inactive, either sleeping or in despair, fleeing from the group as they walked past.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Minako told her cohorts. 

“Well, it’s a cognition,” Wakaba said. “Specifically, Takuto’s. Conditions here should be affected by his mental state. If he were angry, for example, the shadows would be enraged.”

“So what’s this mean, Mom?” Futaba flew above the group in Prometheus. Since the shadows were running away anyway, she projected her voice through her Persona. The sound created a shadow-free path as they traveled.

“It means he’s sick.” Makoto spoke before Wakaba could. “During flu season, the shadows in Mementos react the same way.”

“But what does this place have in common with Mementos?” Futaba asked, now addressing whoever could answer her question.

Minako thought she had an answer. “You know how we do those requests in Mementos?

“Yeah, the changes of hearts. It’s kind of our thing.”

“Was saving those people yesterday all that different?” Minako addressed the whole group.

“Oh, god.” Futaba groaned.

“What’s wrong, Futaba?” Wakaba was concerned at how distraught her daughter had become.

“More sidequests. I’ve grinded enough as it is.”

At least Mishima and Kasumi thought it was funny. Futaba began thinking of ways to make everyone else pay for not laughing.

And so, they did sidequests. They were quite simple, really. Shadows weren’t in a state to fight and the gloomy skies had a way of breaking the victims out of their fog. 

There were a lot of victims. Fast food workers, politicians, Yakuza and more sex workers than they could count. “Seriously, Minako, we could literally populate a whole city of just hookers we’ve saved,” Minato told his sister. 

They had a group of five that had found each other in the city and grouped up. One of them, Brittknee (she swore that’s how it was spelled. Nobody argued) told them somebody already did that, it’s called Las Vegas.

“Oh.” Minato was just glad they weren’t offended.

“Can we go to Las Vegas?” Yusuke said loud enough for everyone to hear. “I would like to capture the-”

Kasumi cut him off. “Yeah, yeah, Yusuke, we get it, you’d like to capture every STD on the planet.” 

The group was getting ready to leave, not for the day, but just to take back all those they’d rescued. It was about 35 people they’d brought back in one trip. Hopefully they’d be able to fit 60+ people in Narukami’s apartment, even briefly. 

Kirijo had checked her phone and noticed a lot of texts from Ren. Like, 30 of them.

“Yu, come here.” Ren had listed to her everything he’d done this afternoon; he’d apparently had the same idea to rescue mental shutdown victims that Minako’d had. Or, Katsuo, inadvertently, had. In reminding Ren that they saved Kana as well, Ren realized there must have been so many people stuck in Maruki’s cognition that they needed to save before they collapsed the palace. If they didn’t save them, there was a chance they would actually die.

Narukami addressed the group. They had returned to the park where they had found the child the previous day. 

“Some of you, in one way or another, and some literally, fucked with Masayoshi Shido.” Rise shook her head at her boyfriend. Others laughed politely. “We’re not swearing you to secrecy or anything. You can tell your families what happened, your friends. They’ll all be happy to see you. We want you to take the fear out of the mental shutdowns. If those ordering them realize they no longer hold that power over you, they may no longer order them. We are working in the shadows to take down the culprit.”

Nods around the room showed the group that they were getting through.

“We would appreciate you not trying to guess our identities.” Yu hoped their masks would at least kind of help hide their identities. “Thank you. Now, return to your families, your real families.”

The lot of them filed out of the apartment. 

“So, what the fuck do we do with Maruki?” Kanji addressed Kirijo.

“Confront him. He probably already knows what we’re doing.”

===

Ren had already beaten them to it. He trusted Maruki in an odd way. He wasn’t evil. He was just a fucking idiot.

He had planned on storming the place once the rest of the group arrived but he noticed a door to the Velvet Room. He had a question for Igor.

===

“Access once to the Metaverse does not mean permanent access, Trickster.” Lavenza was able to answer the question Igor wouldn’t. “It is up to destiny who receives the ability to alter the other world.”

“So…” Ren thought. “That means Katsuo, and probably Kana, are fated to go back?”

“It wouldn’t be very fun if I answered the question, Trickster.”

“At least you’re more helpful than  _ some _ people.” He shot a glare at Igor, who laughed at him.

===

The rest of the infiltration team was waiting outside the building for Ren when he returned from the Velvet Room.

“How’s Igor?” Yu asked, then more quietly, “Was Margaret there?”

“Useless, mostly. But he’s good.” Ren huffed. “I haven’t seen her in awhile. I’m assuming she’s still out on her supposed top secret mission.”

“She’s probably plotting to kill Rise.” Yu prodded his girlfriend but she didn’t laugh.

“Yeah, sorry I’m not cool that this weird immortal being puts the moves on you every single time you see her and I’m not even allowed to be around when she does it.” Rise was pouting.

“Do we need to remind  _ you _ of that first few months in Inaba?” Rise blushed at Chie’s questioning.

“I was 14!” Chie and Yukiko shared a laugh. “And still figuring stuff out. At least I figured my stuff out when I was 14. You two still paw at each other like that’s normal.”

“Alright, reaching Futaba territory here, Risette.” Shiho had forgiven Futaba, but she wasn’t going to watch another couple get goaded out of the closet. It’d be even worse, Shiho thought, if they weren’t in the closet. Then Rise’s just being a dick to her friends.

The research lab wasn’t as busy today as it was yesterday. 

All of the shadows were asleep and it took them mere minutes to get back to the steel wall Maruki had put up to prevent them from continuing further.

He was waiting for them, or rather, a hologram of him was waiting. It wasn’t the shadowy form he held yesterday. The hologram stood up straight and looked healthy but it’s voice was raspy and quiet. The group had to strain to hear what he was even saying.

“Makoto was right.” Goro said. 

“What’s my prize?”

Minako feigned annoyance. “I swear to god if you guys kiss I’m going to barf.” 

“You’re just upset nobody would kiss you.” The teenagers in the group gasped but the adults chuckled at Minato’s quip.

“Uh, I appreciate the banter but if you guys are just going to talk amongst yourselves I’m going to go back to bed…” Maruki’s hologram started to disappear.

“Wait!” Ren yelled and it reappeared. 

Maruki sighed. “I guess I’m not going back to sleep, then.”

“How do we get through this door?” Ren had more upward inflection in his voice than a normal question.

“You’re… do you really expect me to answer that?”

“Hey, it worked for Yu.” Ren shrugged.

“I’ll let you guys figure that out yourself. I’m in no condition to continue today.” The hologram disappeared and the infiltration group looked around at each other. 

“Any ideas?” Ren asked.

“You’re the  _ leader _ ,” Mitsuru shot back, netting herself a glare from Sumire. The group searched the area around the wall for anything; a vent, a button, something that would open the door but they found nothing. All of the shadows being asleep or in despair became a roadblock, itself. They couldn’t just beat the answer out of one. 

Futaba had the answer, she thought, but she didn’t want to face the group. She’d ‘leveled up her charisma state’ quite a bit in the short time she’d known Ren but she still wasn’t about to try public speaking. Instead, she leaned over to the nearest person, the loudest person, Kanji. 

“Huh?” she whispered it to him so he could relay the information to everyone. Kanji was distracted, fiddling with his outfit, which wasn’t all that different from Makoto’s. Black leather pants with a black leather jacket, a giant skull on the back, and a black metal mask. He wore a kevlar vest under the jacket. The pants had tassels, which he found fun to play with. “Yeah, I can tell them that.” He cleared his throat. “Futaba has an idea.” 

“Why can’t she tell us, then?”

Futaba eeped out “fear of public speaking!” then hid behind Kanji. 

“If Mementos, whatever that is, gets bigger as you guys take down targets, maybe this place works the same?” Futaba whispered into his ear again. “The cognition here might get weaker as we remove people? Does that make sense?” A couple people, Ren and Makoto, nodded. Futaba whispered into his ear again and Kanji smiled. “Naoto, do you think you could try and make a list of all the mental shutdown victims?”

“It won’t be easy but I can try. Sae can help.”

“Is that all, Futaba?” She nodded.

The group was in higher spirits as they exited the research lab but they were stopped by the hologram.

“You know… I might not be present, per se, but I can still hear everything you’re saying…” 

“Huh. I had that thought and assumed you’d be asleep.” Ren replied. “We were just leaving anyway.”

===

Everyone filed out of the research lab; ‘seriously, no more 30 person expeditions, please,’ Ren thought; and began making their way towards a park with enough space for all of them to safely exit the Metaverse. He was about to ask if everyone was ready to head back when a bullet whizzed past his head. Ren was kind of missing the shooter hadn’t missed: He’d equipped Abaddon on the off chance this happened. He turned around and activated his Third Eye.

“Death, Ares, Queen, you’re with me. Everyone else, go back!” He shouted. None dare ignore his order. 

Ren expected to finally get Minato’s shadow face to face, as a figure climbed down from it’s perch on a nearby fire escape, but Minato’s shadow wasn’t in front of him. This wasn’t a shadow. This one had green eyes. It was a human.

“I’m a bit miffed you didn’t do as I asked.” Ren didn’t recognize the man, but Yu reached for his sword. The man continued speaking to Minako. “All I ask is that you-” 

His sentence was cut off, much like his head nearly was; Minato had silently summoned his own Chi You, different from Ren’s. Vorpal Blade didn’t miss. Instead, Chi You stopped millimeters before it’s axe blade could hit the man.

“Now you can talk.” Minato’s voice was ice cold.

“Man, I did not think I was going to get beheaded by Chris Angel today!”

“I’ve got you seconds away from death.”

“You don’t even know who I am. Aren’t you going to ask who I am?” Minato sighed and recalled Chi you. The man laughed an uncomfortable, chilling laugh. “You kids are all the same! I can’t believe this!”

Minato turned around and instead of using his Persona, he charged the stranger, catching him off guard and knocking him to the ground. His gun skidded across the cement. Ren was quick to recover it. “I can’t believe it, either.”

He squirmed but Minato had him firmly locked down. 

Ren, Makoto and Minako looked on.

“Uh, got this covered bro?” Minako questioned. 

“Oh, you probably want a shot at th-” in his distraction, Minato must’ve let up pressure because The stranger powered back and took off down the street with impressive speed. “You catch that guy’s name?” 

Everyone else shook their heads. 

“Fuck me.”

===

“Well, it’s not like we were actually going to let you kill him, Minato.” He’d been brooding ever since they got back. They’d explained to Yu what they saw and he immediately knew who it was.

“Were his eyes yellow?” Yu was concerned at first but then he thought about it. Adachi almost certainly had a shadow, he thought, but he didn’t think Adachi the type to be a repeat offender.

“Green,” Minato replied.

“And he’s in Shadow Tokyo?”

“Yup.”

Yu didn’t reply. He took a deep breath, let it out, then called his uncle. Maybe he could help him get through to Adachi.

===

_ Evening _

Today hadn’t gone as Maruki planned. Letting Tohru Adachi into his own was supposed to be a last resort.

He’d have been angrier, but he wasn’t the angry type. Besides, he was too busy spewing everything he’d eaten since age 3 into a bucket next to his bed. 

===

“You really want to go in by ourselves?” It took Kana a lot of effort to get her parents to let her leave the house again so soon after she’d returned but tomorrow would be her first day back at school. She also guilt tripped them, just a little. “But mom, she was the only person there for me in that other place!” It wasn’t a lie, really. She wouldn’t have considered herself particularly close to Kat before they were the only two normal people in a world where everybody else was forced to be happy. Now, she’d consider Kat her best friend. ‘God save my soul.’ She didn’t like going to church with her family, but Kat had a reputation. It might be necessary now.

“Yeah, dude, why wouldn’t we?” Kat raised an eyebrow. They were sitting in her bedroom, painted black, with posters for things Kana had zero clue about. She would ask, but they had more important topics at hand. 

“They had like, 30 people.” Kana didn’t want to return to that place anyway. The further away from it she was, the better. “We have other things to worry about.”

Kat sighed. “Like school tomorrow. God, that’s gonna be a bitch and a half.”

“I wonder what the rumors were about us?”

“Oh, probably depends on who you ask.” Kat had the idea that Sakamoto probably sided with them. “I guess there’s a lot of new students this year. They couldn’t fit me back in my old class.”

“You’re in my class now?”

“As of tomorrow.”

“At least something good came out of this.” 

The went back to looking at some of their schoolwork before Kat broke the silence.

“You see the new kid?”

“Frizzy hair? Glasses?”

Kat nodded. “He told me his girlfriend tried to fight Mitsuru Kirijo.”

“Aw, he’s got a girlfriend?” Kana tried to play like she was mocking Kat. She wasn’t a gossip unless she had a crush.

Kat missed the mocking. “My thoughts, exactly.”

===

“Ren, dear, I politely request that we never work with Kirijo-san again.” Sumire and Ren had decided a movie night was in order. She hadn’t seen Officespace and while Yu’s joke was terrible, it was a movie that warranted a watch. Ren had moved the couch in front of the TV so they could see it without craning their necks.

“Sumire, you know we can’t do that.” Ren hadn’t taken nearly as much offense to Kirijo’s questioning his actions as Sumire had. “She’s just trying to protect her people like I’m trying to protect mine.”

“She doesn’t need to be so rude about it.” She reached over and pulled the blanket they were sharing more towards her side. The side furthest away from Ren must’ve been getting cold. 

“She’s not used to being led by somebody.”

“She listens to Coach. And Minato. And Yu.” 

Ren sighed. “They have experience. She’s worked with them before.”

“Do you think it was like this for Coach the first time she worked with Mitsuru?”

“I  _ guarantee  _ you it was.” Ren leaned his head on her shoulder and grabbed her hand under the blanket. “Want me to call her and ask?”

“No, don’t bother her.” Sumire had some sleep in her voice. “She’s probably trying to cheer up Minato. They’re probably fighting.”

Ren laughed. They were definitely fighting.

“Let’s just watch the movie, babe.”

Ren was asleep and would have stayed asleep, had Sumire been able to go more than 30 seconds without laughing.

===

“I swear to fucking god, Minato, it wasn’t your fault and you need to get your head out of your ass.” This fucking kid, Minako thought. Was he always this dense?

“Leave me alone!”

“No!”

“I’m on the phone!”

“No you aren’t!”

“I can hear  _ both _ of you!” Yukari shouted from her room.

“Sorry, Yukari!” Minato shouted back.

“Fuck off, Minato.”

Aigis sat in the living room, unsure of the reason why everyone was fighting. It was just nice to be around her friends again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The name "Britknee" is a holdover from my childhood, when a classmate by the same name got mad at me for asking if she was changing her name to Bum Knee after she got hurt during a soccer game. I was bullied relentlessly for this joke. I think it was warranted.
> 
> Angry newspaper people are the best, hence Keiko's role in the story. To say she's based on one person would be a lie; it's more like she's based on everyone I've ever worked with. A newsroom is a silly place, we must never go there.
> 
> This chapter was initially intended to be a long, epic battle, when I realized it just didn't fit the tone of the story at all. Ever just throw out 25k words? It's not fun. I'm pretty angry about it. But good god, the original chapter fucking sucked, I promise. I had zero fun writing it and more than half the people weren't even in character half the time. Like if you thought I was scatterbrained before, you should've seen me after thinking I finished. 
> 
> This chapter? I'm pretty happy with, even if it does get a bit on the goofy side.
> 
> This ends the first major arc of the story and we're back on the fluff train for awhile, where I pretend I'm funny and not just ruining beloved characters. 
> 
> Maybe I'll even get to Madarame. Some day.


	36. A Much, Much Easier Way

_ Monday, June 6, Morning _

**Missing Students Return to Class**

_ By Ren Amamiya _

_ After several months away from school, Katsuo Suzuki met with Interim Principal Ushimura on Sunday to see about returning to class. _

_ When asked where she’d been, Suzuki replied with an answer as confusing as her disappearance. _

_ “Something bad happened with Kamoshida that I don’t remember it,” Suzuki said. She then asked where they were, and was happy to hear Kamoshida is no longer employed. “Anywhosits, we went to the police or something. Ol’ Spikey McPervertson kept showing up at my house and following me home. Couple days later, I was back at school. Kamoshida was gone.” _

_ Suzuki said the school she was at, which was a near perfect imitation of Shujin, had students but they held creepy smiles on their faces. _

_ “Dude, it was like they couldn’t not smile,” Suzuki said. “It was forced. They were nice. Everything felt perfect but fucked.” _

_ Suzuki said a group of people, some student-aged, saved her but she was sworn to secrecy. She wondered if her case is related to the mental shutdown incidents. _

_ This marks the second time Shujin has been linked to the incidents. Students Shiho Suzui, Ann Takamaki and Rio Fujinami were the only survivors in a train accident related to the incidents. _

_ Suzuki also confirmed that Kana Hasegawa, another student that disappeared around the same time, has returned home and is returning to Shujin. _

“I can’t believe you wrote this.” Makoto had met Ren at the school gate. 

“I know, right? I didn’t expect to be that good of a writer.” She smacked him. 

“You’re going to blow our cover!” She hissed. Loud enough that Ren knew he was in trouble and quiet enough that hopefully nobody else heard her.

“Oh, we’ll be fine.” Ren gave her a thumbs up. “As far as anyone knows, I was just in the right place at the right time.”

“Yeah. That seems to happen quite often with you.” She sighed. “Somebody’s going to catch on to all these coincidences.”

For the first time that Keiko could remember, the Shujin Academy Crier had a story that was the buzz of the school. She’d never been more proud. Maybe she could get more funding, or even better, an actual news staff!

She was waiting outside Amamiya’s classroom to congratulate him on a job well done when she saw him talking with Makoto Niijima.

“On second thought…” There weren’t many students that bothered Keiko like Makoto. She didn’t like anyone, so it shouldn’t come as a shock that she didn’t like Makoto, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Something seemed off. Robotic, even. When the viral video of Makoto taking down that creep came out, Keiko wasn’t surprised to see her acting like some kind of android. 

Before she could get away, Ren spotted her. “Keiko, hey. Looks like the story was a hit.”

“Who said you could call me by my first name, Amamiya?” She gave him a narrow glare.

“Uh, you never told me your last name.”

“Oh.”

“I’ll call you by th-” She cut Ren off before he could continue further.

“Oh, no, it’s fine. Anyway. Yes, I was coming by to congratulate you on your first byline. Hopefully it’s the first of many!”

“Of course. I’ll be putting something together for the next print, if you’ll have me.”

“I’ll tell you what, you get me a story and I’ll design the pages. You kind of suck at that anyway.” Keiko sighed. “Hands are probably too big for a keyboard.”

“What?”

“Oh, nothing. I need to go.” Keiko scurried off.

“What is her deal?” Keiko hadn’t even acknowledged Makoto.

“I hope I never, ever find out.”

===

Minako had to force Minato out the door for school on Monday. He was adamant to go to the Metaverse for revenge on Adachi; “Nobody kills my sister except me!”

“You’re going to kill me?”

“Only if you keep being a pest.”

He did make it to school, though. Minako drove him. He arrived a bit later than usual, which put him right in line with the time Goro and Rio normally appeared. Goro must’ve gone in already, but Rio was still standing at the gate talking to an impressively tall woman and her friend, who had dyed purple hair. He thought he’d seen them somewhere before but I couldn’t quite figure out where. Their conversation’s tone seemed light but as he approached, Minato realized they were grilling her, albeit politely, about the world in which they exited on Saturday.

“Come on, Rio, you can trust us.” The purple haired girl was doing most of the talking.

“Considering the first thing you did was talk to a  _ reporter _ , whoever saved you should throw you back in.” 

Minato made his presence known by laughing. “Sup, Rio? George and Lenny bothering you?”

“We’re just trying to figure out why Rio was with the group that saved us.” Kana was surprisingly intimidating, he noticed. And pretty, with emerald eyes. Meeting them caused him neck strain. 

Then he realized he was staring.

“Sorry, Kana, he’s too busy eyefucking you to respond.” Rio flicked him behind the ear. “Let’s get to class. If you guys want to talk later, we’ll be on the roof.”

“Hey, you guys stole my spot!” Kat feigned annoyance.

“Yeah, and we instituted a no smoking policy.” Minato said as Rio tried to pull him away. 

“Fuck, really? How else am I supposed to get through Ushimaru’s class?”

“Are you really dumb enough to carry at school?” Rio scoffed.

“Dude, how else you think I make money? Kawakami usually picks up on Mondays.”

Rio didn’t know what to say, so she didn’t say anything.‘

===

Kat and Kana arrived on the rooftop at lunch to find a motley crew of the school’s outcasts eating lunch together. 

“It’s like that movie, what is it?” Kana couldn’t recall.

Kat could. “Breakfast Club!”

“And you guys are like that book, Of Mice and Men,” Kasumi shot back.

“Ah, emo boy over there beat you to it,” Kana replied. “After I was done scaring the crap out of him.”

“You didn’t scare me, I was just…”

“You were lost in her eyes, we get it.” Rio huffed. “You aren’t smooth.”

The silence was awkward for a bit until Shiho did something disgusting; Ann was eating leftover crepes she’d had from yesterday’s dinner and got some whipped cream on her cheek. Instead of telling her ‘hey, Ann, you’ve got something on your cheek,’ Shiho decided to lick it off instead. It wasn’t a sexy, lick, either. It was slobbery, like the kind a dog gives its owner when he returns home from work. 

Ann gave a shriek that must’ve been heard across the city at the unexpected slimy tongue meeting her face.

There were horrified looks and then laughter, and then threats of revenge from Ann to Shiho.

Kat cleared her voice at one point. She pulled out her phone and showed everyone the app. “After we returned, this app was on my phone. Kana’s got it, too.”

Kana pulled her phone out and showed the Phantom Thieves. “We don’t know what it does.”

Kat continued. “But I suspect that Rio knows. Given you’re all inseparable, I’m suspecting you all know, too.” The Phantom thieves exchanged looks with each other. “Whether or not you tell us what’s going on, we’re going back to that world today to explore.”

Ren gave a long, deep sigh.

“Fine. Can it wait until tomorrow? Sumire will kill me if I make her miss practice again.”

“Senpai, I would never!”

“Oh, sure, act all innocent now.” Kasumi said. “But you sure were wound up after you got back last night.”

“That was for a different reason!” Sumire defended herself.

“Care to share with the class what that reason was, little sis?” Sumire’s face turned red and if anyone was looking at Ren, they’d have noticed his do the same.

The bell rang. ‘Thank god that ballbusting session is over.’

On the way down the stairs, Kana pulled Minato to the side before they returned to class.

“You should give me your number.”

“Uh, cell phones are a fad.”

“God, you really are a dork.”

===

_ After School _

Ren thought he’d have some time off after school today but he made it a quarter of a step out away from the school gate when he was stopped by Ichiko Ohya.

“Hey.” ‘I should really keep walking…’ “Hey, don’t ignore me. I saw your story.”

“Oh, yeah, that. How can I help you?”

It wasn’t that Ren wanted nothing to do with Ohya. She was always a good friend and helpful. The problem was her stench; Ren wasn’t fond of the smell of whiskey and she wreaked of it. 

“You can help me by explaining how you confirmed Suzuki’s story..” She had her hands on her hips. Ren was surprised she wasn’t slurring her words. Maybe she just didn’t shower.

“What do you mean?”

“You mean, you didn’t look into her background?”

“I didn’t need to!” Ren had to admit to himself, he was mostly just having fun with Ohya.

“Oh? Why not?” 

“I’m personal friends with the daughter of another victim. The stories matched.”

“And how do you know you can trust the other supposed victim?”

“Because I’ve been where they were, myself.”

“Ah. Just another full of shit kid.” Ohya sounded dejected and she started to walk away. 

“Aren’t you going to ask me anything about that?”

“Nah. I don’t believe you, so I won’t waste your time. See ya.” She wasn’t interested in talking any more.

‘She just missed out on a hell of a story.’

===

“How you think they’re going to do?” Minako made it to practice on time, an unexpected surprise for Coach Hiraguchi.

“I think we’ll have two girls on the pedestals and then we’ll have to break up a fight.” Minako would’ve laughed if Hiraguchi didn’t have a dead serious look on her face. “You still need to explain to me what happened to Sumire.”

“I think you could just ask her, yourself.” ‘Sorry, Sumire.’ Minako wasn’t trying to hang her out to try.

“She’ll give me the same bullshit answer about a boy you gave me.” Technically, that answer wasn’t bullshit, Minako thought, but she wasn’t about to argue. The girls continued on with their training; their regional meet was on Saturday. A top three finish meant more meets in the following months. Minako was excited for the girls and knew they’d do well but she was concerned at how much time it would take. 

Phantom Thieving on a gymnast’s schedule was going to be stressful.

===

Coach Iori had succeeded in getting the school board to give the volleyball players an offseason but some of the girls were still showing up for practice anyway; scarce were the days when he could get out of the school without getting dragged into some sort of extra training. He appreciated their dedication but he really wanted to spend time with Chidori while he could. Summer tournaments would be starting back up soon.

Luckily for Iori, Shiho decided to take over workouts for today, which earned groans from a few of the younger girls. Shiho worked them harder than Iori ever would, but they wouldn’t dare voice their complaints. It was a far cry from the beatings they’d been receiving just a month ago.

For Shiho, she knew they’d be getting two of their best players back from the previous year, and integrating them back into the squad well meant a championship at the Summer Invitational on Tatsumi Port Island. No offense to Rio, but Kat was a damn good libero and they’d lacked the height needed to truly compete after Kana disappeared. 

Rio probably  _ would _ be the better player, eventually, but relying on a first-year against such stiff competition was a recipe for disaster no matter how quickly she was improving and Kat hadn’t lost a step in her time away.

Practice ended when Shiho took Rio to the side. “I don’t know what Iori is going to do about Kat being back.”

“She’s really good.” Rio had been playing on the other side the whole practice; she was keeping up, barely. Diving after every 50/50 ball was tough work but it was her job anyway. A libero would have to be quick and reckless, similar to how Ryuji fought in the Metaverse. 

“She’s probably going to be starting.” Shiho warned. “I don’t know that for sure. But I know she’s a third-year with tournament experience.” Rio nodded, but Shiho could tell she was gritting her teeth. “Are you going to be okay?”

“I’ll be fine,” Rio said, although the words came out pained. “I’ll just have to work harder.”

“Atta girl. Now go home and do drugs with the nice doctor lady.”

Rio didn’t retort because she probably was going home to do drugs with the nice doctor lady.

===

“When did you even find time to pick up?” Kawakami couldn’t believe it was Kat’s first day back and she’d already had a supplier. Sadayo hadn’t even brought enough money with her. 

“I’ve got my guy. Dunno how much longer, though.” Apparently some group calling themselves a mafia was squeezing him out of Shibuya. She’d gotten approached by a couple of skeevy dudes trying to get her in on some scheme; they didn’t realize she’d had one of her own to run. The followed her into a store but her supplier was a pretty scary dude, even to mafia types. He also grew his own, so his prices were cheap as hell. “Shibuya’s getting rough these days, he might want out. He’s just tryin’ to feed his kid.”

“Ah.” Kawakami knew better than to ask any other questions. “Thanks.”

Kat left the faculty office, where Kana was waiting outside. She was quite jumpy.

“How do you keep calm doing that?”

“What you mean? I’d rather get caught doing that than work at a flower shop or something.” Kana looked her friend in the eye, thinking she could talk some sense into her. Instead, she found her eyes bloodshot. 

“We  _ just _ left practice.” She sighed. “When do you even find time for that stuff?”

“Not my fault the school isn’t up to code.” Kat nudged her friend and they started walking towards the door. “You seem tense.”

“I just don’t know why this didn’t bother me before, but it does now.” 

“Me neither.” Kat stopped and looked at her. “Like, I can tone it down a bit.”

“That’s not what I mean.” Kana sighed. “You wouldn’t be you without some criminal element.”

“True.”

“I’m saying, that other world, it was like nothing mattered. I never got anxious, never worried you’d get caught, none of that.” Kat nodded along. “Now? It’s like I’m constantly looking around the corner.”

“I got you, dude. That other world was like being high all the time.”

“Which you already are.”

“But that’s my choice.” They started walking again, reaching the school gate. “It wasn’t one made for me.”

===

**YK:** When are we going back to Madarame’s palace?

**RA:** Tomorrow?

**RA:** Everyone available?

**TT:** I’m not.

**RF:** I am

**SS:** blondies and I are in

**RA:** blondies? Plural?

**SS:** Ryuji wants to impress Miss Okumura.

**RS:** thanks shiho

**FS:** AW! RYUJI’S GOT A GIRLFRIEND

**RS:** not a girlfriend

**RS:** am asking her out tho

**MN:** rooting for you

**GA:** same

**MA:** I’ll tell Kana our change of plans

**MA:** I can’t believe I’m my brother’s middle man

**RA:** neither can I

**FS:** I have an old phone he can have

**MA:** he won’t take it. I tried to buy him one

**MA:** he said he loves you guys

**MN:** that’s code for him flipping us off, isn’t it

**MA:** yep.

===

Against his better judgment, Ryuji asked Ann for fashion advice which turned into a trip to Harajuku that he almost certainly couldn’t afford.

That wouldn’t matter, Ann told him. She was willing to help him out, just this once, because “it’s so adorable that you’re finally growing up!” This coming from the same girl that still held five dollars over his head from when he was a kid. 

She secretly found it extremely sweet that he borrowed money just to get his mom a gift; her roasting him for that was her own way of commemorating it. 

Ann dragged him from store to store for the whole afternoon, forcing him to try on more clothes than he knew existed, before settling on a couple different outfits that left him dressing surprisingly similar to Ren.

She expected Ryuji to complain about feeling suffocated because he never wore anything more than graphics tees and cargo shorts, but he took it all like a trooper. “You must really like Haru,” Ann teased. “I never thought I’d get you in real, human clothes.” She finished buttoning the top button on a grey button down shirt, then started rolling up the sleeves. “You have great arms, you should always have rolled up sleeves.”

“Why?” Ryuji had been good about not questioning her methods up til this point.

“You personally haven’t heard it, but girls love forearms.”

“Really? That’s weird!”

“I didn’t say it was normal, it just is. Don’t question it.” She turned him around and he looked in the mirror. “It works in your favor, so just do it and don’t ask questions.”

Ryuji barely recognized himself. To think, all it took was a button down shirt, a proper fitting pair of jeans and a pair of non-running shoes to turn around his own opinion on his appearance.

Shiho had met them just a little bit later; Ryuji paid them back for their time by getting them crepes.

===

The cat that wasn’t a cat was sure acting like a cat when Ren walked back into LeBlanc that afternoon. Futaba had him sitting with her in a booth purring like, uh, not a cat with a combination of chin scratches and pets that stopped after Ren asked Morgana if he was having a good time.

“Of course,” Morgana replied, attempting to look dignified. “It is the duty of a gentleman to find joy in even the most mundane of activities.”

His retort earned both him and Futaba a headpat. Morgana, used to the affection, mewed in happiness, but Futaba shot Ren a look.

“What was that for?”

“You’ve done a great job lately. You deserved recognition.” Futaba hadn’t told him specifically that she wanted head pats, but he knew instinctively from 112 years of experience.

“Oh!” Futaba would have said more if she hadn’t been interrupted by Sojiro’s laughter. There was a woman Ren recognized sitting at the bar conversing with the old timer.

It wasn’t like Sojiro to laugh with such animation.

Ren tried to be discreet, speaking quietly. “Who’s the woman?”

“Don’t recognize her? That’s Rio’s  _ mom. _ ” Futaba emphasized that last part.

“She’s married, isn’t she?”

“For now, from what I’m gathering. She isn’t mentioning a husband…”

Ren wanted to be upset at Sojiro but he couldn’t blame him. Rio’s mom was a solid 10/10 for being a woman in her 40s. She was short like Rio and shared the same brown eyes, but Rio looked more like her father in the rest of her face. Reiko’s face lacked the same roundness her daughter had; if she weren’t an awful person, she’d be striking. Although, Ren guessed she wasn’t a terrible person, anymore.

“I suppose we shouldn’t get in the way.” 

“Should we at least tell Rio?”

“Probably, unless you want her to become your sister.”

“Oh.” Futaba didn’t say anything for about ten seconds. “I’ve always wanted a sister, though.”

Sojiro must’ve heard that part of their conversation, because Reiko was heading towards the door. “The world doesn’t need a third Ishikki woman.”

“If you and my mom would get your heads out of your asses, it would be a third Sakura woman.”

===

_ Tuesday, June 7th, After School _

Kana and Kat were much more interested in going to Madarame’s palace than they were in Shadow Tokyo.

“Dude, there’s like, individualized palaces? What’s mine look like?”

“If I had to guess, it’d be a crack house,” Kana retorted. 

“I’ve never once sold crack.” Kat gave her a dark look.

“That was oddly specific,” Queen shot back. “Is there something I should know?”

“No, ma’am, nothing at all.” If Kat’s too-quick retort didn’t make it obvious she was up to something illegal, the whistling that followed did. She leaned into Kana. “Not in front of Prez, dude.”

“Actually, it’s Queen in the Metaverse.” Queen was intimidating as all hell to the nosey newcomers, including Kana, who didn’t intimidate easily.

“Oh god, I’m getting beheaded.” Kat bowed.

“Not that kind of Queen!”

Ren was fairly certain they’d be safe with the protection of Ares in this palace. If newcomers Yuuki and Yusuke were capable of holding their own, Personas wouldn’t be necessary for the two. Besides, they were given the app by “Destiny,” Igor had said, meaning if they were in danger, they’d probably awaken. Ren was banking on that being true. 

The two watched in awe as the Phantom Thieves fought their way through shadow after shadow, making short work of what Kana kept calling demons.

“Ugh! Newbs!” Futaba finally lost her temper with Kana, leaving the safety of Prometheus to confront her. Everyone, except Kana, lost it as the diminutive Futaba marched up to the gigantic Kana and started giving her a piece of her mind. “It’s a shadow, they’re from the sea of human souls. They are not demons! That’s something completely different, and if you don’t shut up, we’ll end up fighting those, too!”

“Uh,” Minako interrupted. “We’re big on jinxes here, FYI.”

“Ares,  _ you’re _ the one guilty of jinxing us literally every time,” Royal said with a huff. “You got your head taken off because of it.”

“She’s got a point, sis.” Death replied.

“All these codenames are sick, dude. I want one.” Kat had made an effort to memorize all of them.

“Hopefully, you never need one,” Queen replied, meaning ‘hopefully, you’re never in that much danger’ and ‘hopefully, we never have to rely on you in a pinch’ both at the same time.

“Getting a Persona is usually a traumatic experience,” Violet said. Except for her and Kasumi… although they were a special case that was probably more traumatic for Ares than either of them.

“Yeah,” Omen said. “Plague and I almost died our first time.”

“Jesus. Kinda badass though.”

Yuuki was the only person that nodded. He wasn’t about to say it was worth almost dying, but to him, it was. 

“Hey!” A realization had dawned on him. “Nobody ever gave me a code name.”

Ren thought about it. He just didn’t talk to Mishima very often in any timeline. He avoided it if he could, but he supposed if he could give Goro a chance, Mishima deserved one, too. “Hound?”

“Joker, are you calling him Hound because he’s friends with Fox?” Violet caught on immediately.

“So what if I am?”

“Do you realize how bad of an omen that is?”

“What’s she got to do with it?”

“You’re impossible.”

The group made it to the door that would need to be opened in the real world fairly quickly. That would be the tricky part of this palace, but as always, Joker had a plan. Madarame didn’t have Shido’s protection anymore. The Phantom Thieves pulled out of the Metaverse and back to the road across the street from Madarame’s house.

“Okay, Yusuke, think you could hold a conversation with Madarame for a few minutes?” He nodded. “We’re going to have Morgana sneak in and pick that door’s lock.”

“How do you know it’ll work?”

“112 years of experience.”

“What?” Kana and Kat said.

Makoto gave a long sigh. “At least you won’t have to give them the whole melodramatic reveal now.”

“It’s not melodramatic! It’s legitimately traumatizing! I barely sleep at night!” Ren argued.

“Have you tried smoking before be-” Makoto interrupted her.

“We’re already hitting our stoner quota.”

“Man, Prez is a fucking buzzkill, dude.” She said this to Kasumi, who nodded, but the rest of the Thieves could hear her. 

“Somebody’s gotta keep us all in line,” Shiho said. “Lord knows that ain’t me.”

“I got one more question, though.” Kana hadn’t been doing much talking, instead taking in her surroundings. She preferred it that way.

“Shoot,” Ren said.

“Why does this dude’s heart look like Flava Flav’s house fucked the Palace at Versaille?”

===

“Dude, I have to have a palace, right?” Kat was stuck on that idea, even if it did end up being a crackhouse.

“What did they say? It’s created by distorted desires?” Kana was trying to recall what Ren had said. “I mean, you really only desire to be high all the time. It would make sense that you’d have some form of distortion.”

“I’ma check.” Kat pulled out her phone, opened the app, and spoke her own name. “Katsuo Suzuki.”

The phone replied. “Mementos target found.”

“What’s Mementos?” Kana asked.

“Dunno. Wanna find out?”

“We should ask the Phantom Thieves.”

“The Phantom Thieves? Or that emo kid you’re stuck on.”

“Yes.” Kana decided she wouldn’t deny it.

===

_ Wednesday, June 8th, Early Evening _

“You’re requesting your own heart gets changed.” Ren stated back at Kat.

“Yeah, dude, I wanna see what it looks like. Aren’t you curious?” 

If Ren was being honest, he was curious. He’d never even had that thought before. What would happen if the person having their heart changed was there during their change of heart? Futaba, he’d guessed, was the closest example he’d seen.

“If you die, it’s not my fault.”

“A’ight, bro. Dying’s metal anyway.”

===

“I still think you’ve lost your effin’ mind.” Skull said as they made it to Mementos. 

Kat and Kana both had shadows of extremely low levels. It made sense to Ren that they weren’t fully developed. Both of them were pretty young and neither of them particularly ambitious, no more ambitious than Rio or the Yoshizawas at least. 

“I think I’m going to agree with Skull on this one,” Crow said. “Queen would agree, too, but she’s too angry with you to speak right now.”

“Crow, could you please kindly tell Joker that if this goes horribly wrong, I will personally deliver him to Maruki.”

“Queen say-”

“Yeah, yeah. I got it.” Ren sighed. “What did you want me to do? They were going to come here whether we came with them or not.”

“I’m kind of curious to see what this looks like,” Futaba said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a person and their shadow in the same place before.”

They reached the door to Kat’s shadow and walked in. Across the room sat a short girl with dyed purple hair, facial piercings and a ridiculous looking glass instrument in front of her. 

“Sup, guys?”

None of them had ever been greeted politely by a shadow that wasn’t doing it sarcastically.

“Dude! It’s me!” Kat struggled to contain her excitement. The shadow held the top of the glass instrument, which kind of looked like a test tube, to her mouth and struck a match, lighting a vent on the side. She then pulled a stem out of the vent, inhaled, then put the stem back in.

The coughing noises that followed were a bit uncomfortable for everyone that wasn’t Kat. Rio had seen Takemi do that before, but she didn’t rip that hard.

“Alright,” the shadow’s voice was raspy. “What you guys want?”

She was met with silence. They had to stop Kat from crossing the room to take a rip of her own.

“Honestly,” Omen said. “I don’t think anyone else would have thought to try and smoke with their shadow.”

“It’s a bit strange, isn’t it?” Kana replied.

“You’ve committed the crime of-” Queen paused. She wasn’t enjoying this in the least. “Doing too much marijuan-” she didn’t get to finish the word because Omen, Violet and Royal were laughing so hard it drowned her voice out. 

“Doing?” Violet questioned with an amused tone.

“I thought you meant injecting the marijuanas, Queen.” Royal was sitting on the ground holding her gut.

Omen was trying to stem her laughter but failing, until she was finally calm enough to say “I’m sorry Queen. You’re just, aha, too innocent.”

Joker tended to agree, and looked to Phoenix and Panther. They both shrugged and nodded.

“I bet that’s not what Crow thinks,” Oracle added, and the three first-years started laughing again. 

Queen sighed. “I’m more surprised you’re acting this way without Ares egging you on.”

Ares mocked an insulted look. “I would  _ never _ do such a thing, and frankly, I think you should apologize.”

“Uh, guys?” The shadow interrupted. “This is funny and all, but you’re really harshin’ my vibe.”

In the uproarious laughter, Kat had snuck away to sit across from her shadow. 

“Anyway, dude, what’s the deal?”

“What you getting at?”

“I was told we don’t get shadows unless we have distorted desires or some shit.”

“I just wanna sit around and get high.” 

“Facts.” She gave her own shadow a look. “But like, we got school and shit.”

“Why, though? That stuff isn’t fun.”

“It ain’t, but we gotta do it, or else we’ll end up walkin’ the streets or somethin’.” She sighed. “Mom did that enough for the both of us.”

“I don’t know, man, I’m not really seeing the point.”

“I get where you’re coming from, dude, but doin’ it as much as you want is just gonna lead to us burnin’ out. We at least gotta see volleyball through, right?”

“...I see your point.”

“Cool, because I hate seein’ me lookin’ all bummed out.” She stood up and took her shadow’s hand, helping her up as well, holding her in an embrace.

‘Did she just give her shadow a hug?’

“I am thou… thou art I.” A Persona appeared behind her that Joker had seen before and Ares was too traumatized to use again. A small girl in a light blue dress, with bright blonde hair, named Alice. Kat’s outfit had changed as well, but it wasn’t as extravagant a change as normally seen, probably because she was already a tacky dresser. She had a black mask with a pink outline, shaped like extended eyeliner with sharp wings, a skin tight black undershirt covered by a leather jacket in a similar color to Makoto’s corset, with cut off sleeves, leaving her arms bare. She wore black jeans with more holes than anyone could count and a pair of purple sneakers.

“Oh come the fuck on!” Queen said. “I nearly got murdered by a serial rapist and this bitch gets one for giving her shadow a hug?!”

“I, ah,” Joker paused. “Think we need to mull over some new strategies.” 

Kana’s shadow led to a different story with the same ending. Whereas Kat’s shadow was, as Kat had confirmed, doing pretty much exactly what Kat wanted to be doing at that very second, Kana’s was in a state of distress.

“This is all so-” she stuttered, which was weird for everyone. Most of the Thieves had only known Kana briefly but she wasn’t what Joker would call a ‘nervous Nellie’. “Weird!” The shadow shouted at them. No greeting, or anything. Kana tried to get closer to the shadow but it backed away, closer to the wall. “I don’t even know if you’re real.”

“Isn’t that your line?” Death prodded Kana, who stood there with a dumbfounded look on her face.

“Yeah; um. I’m real, I think  _ your _ existence is the one in question.”

“That’s what I mean, though. We just spend months in Happy Happy Land and now we’re back to normal? The hell is that?”

Queen interrupted before Kana could reply. “I-” she paused to gather the words. “My father went through something similar. It wasn’t easy.”

“Your father?”

“Yes. I doubt you ran into him. He thought he died a few years ago after getting hit by a car. It turns out he was a mental shutdown victim.” Queen spoke in a pained voice. “It took us a bit to get him close to normal.”

“How did you do it?”

“By being there for him. Me, my sister, my mother. He had a lot of bad days in the beginning. I don’t think anyone reasonable will expect you to not have bad days.” She decided not to dive deep into the metaphysical issues created by her mother’s existence. “But you’ve got friends. And you’ve got us, if you want us.”

The shadow crept cautiously back towards the Phantom Thieves. “I’m scared of all this.”

“Dude, we all are,” Skull said. “But see those two?” He pointed at Death and Ares. “They’ve been doing this for 10 years. It’s dangerous, but they’re both fine.”

“Maybe I’m a bad ex-” Ares interrupted her brother before he could say something stupid.

“Yep! We’re perfectly okay and normal!” Ares words were poorly acted but neither Kana nor her shadow picked up on that.

“I think I can acknowledge my fear.” Kana stepped closer to the shadow, which in turn stepped closer to her. “I’ve never let it stop me before, why would I know?”

They spoke in unison. “I am thou, thou art I…” and the shadow disappeared, instead a Persona appeared behind Kana.

“Penthesilea?” Death questioned his sister. “I’m not wrong in thinking that looks familiar, right?”

“Nope. You aren’t wrong.” Ares replied in a quiet voice.

“Are… do we ignore this?” Death held fear in his voice.

“I’m going to.”

“Okay.”

Kana’s outfit fell more in line with Haru’s, in Joker’s head. Of course, nobody else had seen Haru yet, but she had a similar vest, green instead of black, and a white undershirt. The pants weren’t puffy but the mask was far different than Joker had seen; it was steel grey and ended in three points on top, similar to a crown. ‘This one is pretty heavy handed with the empress arcana symbolism,’ Joker thought.

“So, uh, do we try and check out the new Personamabobs or what?” Kat asked?

“I’m going to say we avoid triggering anything in Mementos right now,” Joker said. “We’ve been here long enough.”

“Yeah, I’d like to avoid the Reaper,” said Death, who had very much enjoyed watching Queen get upset that they found a fairly simpler way of awakening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I fit some unwarranted and unwanted fashion advice into this chapter. Trust me, people, jeans will always be a better look than cargo shorts and T-shirts are fine, but if you're trying to impress someone, getting a nice dress shirt that fits is easier now than it's ever been. 
> 
> If nobody's caught on yet, Kat is based around the very real person that sold my friends drugs in college, and the real life person is even more of a cartoon character. I've never been a drug guy, but those parties were never, ever boring. 
> 
> Can you believe that I'm finally getting to Madarame? 
> 
> Even crazier, is Kaneshiro is just around the corner. I think I got this whole fluff-obsession I've been stuck on under control. Until after Kaneshiro, that is, because an arc is coming that nobody expects.


	37. Art is Pain

_ Wednesday, June 8th, After School _

Ren considered himself a clever thief but he wasn’t above using the oldest tricks in the book to get what he needed.

Ann had helped him turn into a maintenance man: Ren would knock on the front door and the second it opened, Morgana would sneak in behind whoever answered it undetected and pick the lock to the room.

Ren approached the atelier and knocked on the front door. Seconds later, the door was answered by a young man, stick thin, with thick black rimmed glasses and brown hair.

“Can I help you?” His tone was annoyed but his voice was quiet. His speech came off as though it hurt to speak.

Morgana had already made it through the door unnoticed, so Ren had no more reason to pretend he was a maintenance man. If Mona could pick a lock, he could open a window. This kid looked ill. “Are you okay?”

The kid jumped like Ren had just asked him to strip for him. “What? I’m fine.” He spoke a bit too quickly for someone who was okay. “I’m serious.” He huffed. “Did Natsuhiko put you up to this? There’s no conspiracy. You people need to stop snooping.” Had the kid been strong enough, he probably would have slammed the door in Ren’s face. Instead, Ren caught it and grabbed the kids shoulder.

Turning him around was far too easy. “Have you eaten?”

“My dad feeds me, if that’s what you’re asking.” ‘His dad?’ “Look, we get this all the time. I’m just a skinny kid. I’m a picky eater. Besides, my best art comes when I’m hungry.”

Ren pulled a scrap of paper out of his bag and quickly scribbled his phone number. “If you decide you are hungry, give me a call.”

The kid sighed. “You aren’t a good samaritan. You’re a nuisance.” He read the name. “Amamiya-san.”

Ren let the door shut this time. Morgana had already escaped, the mission successfully completed.

===

The rest of the Thieves, minus Violet and Royal, who had gymnastics practice, and Katsuo and Kana, who Ren wouldn’t bring along to avoid having their first infiltration be this close to a boss fight, scrambled through the door and through the rest of Madarame’s palace. With the added help from Mona, they breezed through the rest of the palace, set their plan to steal the treasure, and exited the palace. 

===

_ Late Afternoon _

Rio had been told to text Kat after they got done with their “shit” in “art world,” so she did as was demanded. It turned out that Kat was desperate for a new wardrobe and Kana had outgrown another pair of pants.

“I don’t understand how anyone is so tall.” Rio heard one of the shopkeepers say as Kana made her way through the men’s section. Kana put her head down at the woman’s words.

“Is it like this for you everywhere you go?” Rio had asked her.

Rio imagined Kana was lying when she replied that it didn’t bother her. “It’s just how things are. My real dad’s a real life giant, apparently.”

“Seriously?”

“Mom claims he’s 7 feet tall. I don’t know if I believe her, but most people don’t believe it when they see me, either. “

“Dude, where’d your mom even find a man that big?”

“America, probably. She only moved back here because gram made her.” She gave a telling sigh: Her mother and grandmother must be stressful, Rio thought. “America was too expensive.”

The three went to a few different stores, with Rio, herself, picking out some new clothes using money Ren had given her from their fights in the Metaverse. Apparently, shadows dropped money that Ren had no use for. That was pretty handy.

She’d selected some clothes that she was sure Tae would be jealous of. She was planning to wear them to visit her mother. 

“You just trying to piss off your mom or you tryin’ to get some?” Kat interrupted Rio’s stream of thoughts. 

“Um!” Rio looked at Kana, whose face was equally red. “That’s not really on my radar.”

Kat laughed. “Right, you just callin’ out Kana and Minato because you’re a prude, not jealous.”

“I am not a prude!”

“So you’re jealous!”

“Kat!” Kana interrupted. “We’re in public.”

Kat sighed and went back to the clothes she was rifling through on a rack and pulled out a black skirt that looked a lot like what Takemi wore in the Metaverse.

“Bet ya Minato would like this one-” Kana interrupted Kat before she could finish the sentence.

“Stop making fun of Rio, Kat. You’ve gone far enough.” She reminded Rio of a mother dealing with her kid’s bully. 

What Rio didn’t realize was that it was Kana, not herself, that was feeling jealous at Kat’s questioning.

Rio did end up buying the skirt. At the very least, she could make Tae uncomfortable with it. 

===

_ Evening _

Rio offered to deliver the calling card; all she had to do was stick it in the letter slot of the atelier and she had business with her mother just a couple blocks away, anyway. She’d been doing a wonderful job, she thought, of ignoring her mother’s existence but she knew she couldn’t ignore it forever. 

Her mom would probably shit if she saw the way Rio had been living: The extra money had allowed her a new wardrobe, part of which she wore to the visit. Ripped black jeans, black converse and a sleeveless tank top weren’t all that extreme, but they’d be enough to get a rise out of her mother. The black choker was a little more extreme, but they were in style anyway; her mom would be able to appreciate that. Hell, her cognition barely wore any clothes at all, now that Rio thought about it. 

She still had a key to her parents’ home but she decided to knock anyway. Her father should still be away. While he should be out of jail by now, he had enrolled himself in a sort of rehabilitation facility for people with severe anger management issues in an effort to never behave in such a way again. Rio assumed that was probably unnecessary given he’d had a change of heart but she could appreciate the extra effort her father was going through.

Her mother answered the door and smiled the most genuine smile Rio had ever seen; her mother had a remarkably pretty smile when it was genuine. Normally, Rio was used to her smiling in a way that just bared her teeth, an uncomfortable display of joy that oftentimes wasn’t genuine. 

“Rio, I’m so happy to see you.” It didn’t take a body language expert to see that her mother was trying not to jump for joy. Rio could almost see her heart pounding.

“I thought I’d just stop by and say hello.” Rio wanted to just hug her mom but she knew better. Change of heart or no change of heart, she wasn’t about to just forgive her mother.

Her mother was quick to pick up on that and didn’t seem offended. She sighed, and let Rio in the house. Rio was relieved her mom didn’t expect a hug, or for Rio to just jump back into family life. She cleared up the awkward silence.

“I’m not expecting you to be happy to see me.” Her mother spoke with much sadness in her voice. “I don’t deserve your kindness.”

Rio didn’t speak; she gathered from her mother’s tone that she wasn’t done, or that she was still forming thoughts.

“I haven’t spoken to your father since he turned himself in.” Her voice broke a little, but she didn’t cry, yet. “I don’t know what I’ll say to him.”

The two sat at the family table. Rio hadn’t yet given her mother a real response, but she’d given little nods and short answers to let her mom know she was listening. It wasn’t that Rio was ignoring her mom, or not speaking to her. She wasn’t responding because she truly didn’t know what to say. 

‘I’m sorry, mom, my friends went into an alternative world and made it so you and dad didn’t suck anymore?’ Rio knew she couldn’t say that, but that was probably the easiest answer.

“I don’t want to just talk about me today. I’m sorry if it feels that way.” It didn’t feel that way to Rio. “How have you been? Is the doctor treating you well?”

Rio didn’t want to freeze her mom out, so she provided some answers. “I’ve been good, mom.” She paused. “Goro helps me study so my grades have never been better.”

“That’s good, Rio.”

“And Makoto has been teaching me self defense again.” She had to decide if she wanted to explain why she kept going with aikido. Makoto was a task master and quitting would have been easy. “Just… like, after dad…”

“Rio, I underst-”

“After dad, I knew I’d need to be able to take care of myself. I’m not large enough to throw my weight around, but I can leverage my own weight against anyone who thinks I’m a pushover.”

Her mom nodded.

“Plus it’s great conditioning for volleyball.” She gave her mom a smile. She wasn’t getting a hug, but she deserved a smile. She’d earned it.

“How’s volleyball been going?” Her mother asked with some trepidation. The ambitions she placed on her daughter was part of what led to their falling out in the first place.

“Well, I’m probably losing my starting spot.” Rio saw her mom’s eyes flash a little. “I know, I’m mad, too. It’s not because I’ve regressed. It’s for a happy reason.”

“What happened?”

“You remember Kat Suzuki? The girl who showed me around at orientation?”

“I don’t recall-”

“The one with the purple hair.”

“Oh! Yeah, her.” She paused. “She seems like she’d be a terrible influence.”

“Oh, you hit the nail on the head with that one.” Rio thought about the ridiculous things Kat had said and done in the brief time they knew each other. “She actually took me shopping today, her and her giant friend, Kana.”

“You’re friends with the girl who took your spot?” 

Rio nodded. “I guess. She was missing for a few months, mom. Plus, she’s got the edge in experience and I could learn from her.”

“That’s how your dad was with-” she cut herself off. “Maybe I shouldn’t mention that.”

Rio assumed her mother was talking about Kamoshida. “Anyway, have you talked to dad?”

“I have. And-” a pregnant pause filled Rio with tension. Her mother’s face was tense. “We’ve decided we should split up.”

Rio shook briefly from the shock. “What?” Her parents sucked, most of the time, but they did love each other.

“We spoke on the phone about it and our past behaviors. Our personalities play off of each other’s worst impulses and cause us to act out. This leads to spiralling behavior that affects us and those around us.”

“That sounds like it came off of a pamphlet.”

Her mother laughed. “It did come off of a pamphlet.”

===

_ Thursday, June 9th, After School _

The Thieves successfully pulled off their heist of a painting that was definitely not the actual treasure, but Ren had never found a way to get the actual treasure in Madarame’s palace without triggering a boss fight first. It was annoying but he expected this time to be fairly simple. The only thing difficult about this heist was listening to Tae bitch about having to close the clinic.

“I can’t just drop work whenever you ask, Joker,” she said indignantly as she hit the button that pulled Morgana up, allowing him to grab the treasure and escape.

“Hey, Plague,” Crow said. “How many appointments did you have scheduled today?”

“None, why-” she stopped. “You motherfucker. That doesn’t mean I didn’t have anything to do!”

“Did you have anything to do?” Omen laughed at her roommate’s prodding.

Tae didn’t answer, then quietly said “no.”

“Then why are you complaining?”

“Dunno. My whole life is full of me complaining for no reason and now I’m running around this weird ass fuckin’ artist guy’s heart.”

“Valid point.” Crow replied. This whole conversation took place while the Thieves were scrambling back towards the door they needed to break into Madarame’s house to open. 

Crow was interrupted by Morgana acting weird. 

“Why’s Mona gettin’ excited now, of all times?” Skull said of Morgana’s incessant purring in regards to the treasure. 

“I just can’t take it anymore! Let’s take a look at this Treasure…!”

“I think the cat’s priorities are misplaced,” Fox said.

“I’m not a cat!”

“Well, what are you?” A voice nobody else recognized spoke up. Madarame approached from behind. Three pillars arose around the Thieves and Joker warned them to back off. An electric fence sprang up around the supposed treasure. “Meddlesome vermin.” Madarame spoke in a low voice. One of his guards was holding the real treasure next to him. Joker spoke before Madarame could next.

“Hey, can you just give us that? You really don’t stand a chance against us.” Joker’s tone was bored, not arrogant. “No cap, you couldn’t beat the weakest of us.”

“God, Joker is talking like a middle schooler,” Oracle interrupted.

“How dare you! The insolence! You dare ignore the great Madarame?” His voice boomed through the grand lobby.

“The great? What about this is great?” Fox snapped. “This is an insult, a travesty! To think! All this stemming from you selling copies of a painting you plagiarized! I dare say this is an insult to more than just my mother.”

“Oh, boo hoo, poor little boy.” Madarame mocked. “Your mother? You’re just lucky she’s alive. She wasn’t strong enough to live. The weak only live to leech off the powerful.”

“That’s not effin’ true, asshole!” Skull shouted.

“You’re beginning to irritate me,” Crow said. “Joker, can we take him down now?”

“Let’s do it.” 

Death landed the first blow, detonating the terrifying living painting of an eyeball immediately; it’s power was far below even the weakest shadows they’d fought in Shadow Tokyo. 

The second blow came from Ares, a melee attack that took out the second eye.

Phoenix and Panther had teamed up for their attack on the nose: A cavalcade of bright light coming from their Personae clashed with the nose, sadly forcing it to disappear instead of leaving it bloody.

“I had a great one liner saved, god damn it!” Phoenix said in frustration.

“You can tell me anyway, babe.”

“Ugh. Fine.” Phoenix said as Skull fed his pipe to the mouth of the painting. “Normally it’s my nose you make bleed, Panther!”

“You should have kept that to yourself, sweet cheeks.”

“I’ll give you sweet cheeks…” Phoenix was interrupted as a blow from Hound finished off the mouth.

‘It’s ironic, in a way, that Mishima was officially the one to shut Madarame up.’ Joker thought to himself, but the real battle was about to begin.

“Alright, here comes the Mighty Morphin’ Plagiarizing Rangers!” Joker said, expecting a laugh but receiving silence.

“Wow.” Oracle said. “I might actually just let Madarame kill me.”

“Yeah, honestly, I agree,” Crow said. “I’d rather die than hear that joke again.”

“Gonna be real, Joker, I just lost all the respect I had for you,” Ares said. 

“I’m not breaking up with you, I’m just saying you should work on yourself a little bit,” Violet said. 

“When did my sister become such a savage?” Royal laughed. “I blame Coach.”

“I’ll take credit! That’s a compliment!” Ares beamed. 

Madarame’s shadow didn’t take too kindly to being ignored and attacked stupidly; the first of Madarame and the Amazing Technicolor Bathrobes went after Ren, who almost always (and certainly did this time) went in with a Persona that reflected physical attacks, cutting its own health in half before getting taken out by an Eiga from Plague’s Persona, Rosario. 

The rest were taken out by a plethora of physical attacks from the Phantom Thieves. Joker was right, Madarame didn’t stand a chance.

Madarame’s shadow, of course, was on his knees, begging the Phantom Thieves not to take the treasure.

“Please! I have a kid to support!”

“You fucking horse’s ass,” Queen spat while Skull winced. “The woman you stole that painting from had a kid to feed.”

“I can’t believe that was your only excuse,” Fox replied. “I honestly expected more from you. Something more infuriating, perhaps. I didn’t think you’d be this pathetic.”

The shadow fell back from it’s knees and onto it’s butt, scooting back on an encroaching Fox.

“Please, you don’t know what they’ll do to me…”

“Actually, we do know what they’ll do to you. The gold mask? We’re taking him out, too,” Death said. “You just so happened to pick the wrong side. You always pick the wrong side. Because you’re a bastard. Now, you just get to feel bad about it. Congratulations on joining those with a fucking conscience.”

“...badass.” Omen hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

===

_ Evening _

Normally, Ren would return to LeBlanc and relax after a palace, preferably with Sumire. They’d gotten used to their post-palace nights in. Ren would make enough curry and they’d pig out, drinking coffee late into the night, discussing their place in the universe. He’d had this kind of relationship many times with many different women but with Sumire? It felt right. He couldn’t recall enjoying a woman’s company quite as much as he enjoyed hers. She had a quiet resolve now that he never expected she’d gain when he first met her; she’d still blush whenever Ren’s flirting became too brazen, but she was able to give it right back. And she was so overprotective that it just melted Ren’s heart. It was like having a little dog that didn’t know it was a little dog, except this little dog could bite back harder than expected. He’d learned that the hard way when he’d offered a quick sparring session that ended with him on his back, her on top, and not in a way that he was proud of. He couldn’t even explain how it happened but he’d go into detail on what happened after, if he weren’t a gentleman.

Regardless, that wasn’t what happened on this night because against his better judgment, he planned a guys night with the male Phantom Thieves, coinciding with the girls night the women had planned at the behest of Ann. She said she felt she hadn’t gotten to know the team as well as she had wanted, which Ren wanted to call bullshit on but then he thought about it. Ann was usually too busy sucking face with Shiho to hang out with everyone.

Ren only laid out one rule for the night.

“No maids.” 

An argument between Ren and Goro, who were adamantly anti-maid, and Yuuki and Ryuji, who were pro-maid, and Yusuke, who only wanted to paint a woman in a maid costume, although he worded it strangely. 

“I would love to portray the glory of a woman of the evening on my canvas!”

His argument almost made Yuuki and Ryuji back down. 

Minato refused to choose sides, instead saying that he’s on “team chaos. Whichever answer leads to the craziest night, I’m in.”

“This isn’t fair,” Yuuki complained. “You guys all have girlfriends.” 

“It’s not my fault you haven’t asked anyone out.”

“Is anyone on the team single?”

“Dr. Takemi is single!” Crow shouted. 

“I will give you 5,000 yen to ask out Dr. Takemi. ‘That’s enough for a maid.” Ren thought further. “I’ll give you another 5,000 to ask her out in front of Rio.”

Minato chuckled. “Minako’s single. She’s, ah, how do I put this. She’s going to die alone.” He gave it further thought. “Honestly, she probably would have been the better seal. Not like she’ll ever have family outside of me.”

“I’m telling her you said that,” Joker said. “Actually, I’ll just tell Kasumi. She’ll be more offended than Minako will.”

“I’ll fight Kasumi, I’m not afraid.”

Somewhere, Souji sneezed.

The male Phantom Thieves all hung out in LeBlanc’s attic, taking turns on Shaq Fu because despite having no want for money, Joker was still too cheap to buy Street Fighter 2 or Mortal Kombat.

“I don’t even know who Shaq is,” Yuuki whined. “Or why he’s doing kung fu.”

“These graphics are gaudy and unnecessary,” Yusuke said. “Whoever this Shaq person is must be artistically challenged.”

“Isn’t that the Man’s Not Hot guy?” Ryuji pointed out and followed it up with a series of weird noises that Ren didn’t recognize. “Skrrrt prapraprap pop pop skeeedeedeedatdat.”

“Wow. Those were certainly, uh-” Ren didn’t have a response. ‘Thanks, Ryuji.’

The night went on further as the Thieves switched to something else entirely.

“So, I found my old ID the other day.” Minato said.

“Like, state ID or student ID?” Ren replied.

“State.” Minato’s eyes narrowed.

“And?” Ren had zero clue where Minato was going with this.

“It’s still got my picture on it. I look the same. And it says I was born in 1993.” Ren thought Minato’s eyes were narrowing in some form of anger or focus, but now he realized it was excitement.

“What… did you do?”

“You guys ever drink beer?”

“Oh. Fuck.” Ren said. He had. And hadn’t. Time loops are weird. “Technically, I haven’t.”

Ren thought he noticed a sloshing noise coming from Minato’s duffle bag when he came in but he ignored it; he hadn’t the slightest idea his friend would be bringing beer.

“We should play a drinking game!” Yuuki announced.

“We have school in the morning…” Ren’s eyes narrowed at Mishima.

“Puss.” Minato hissed. 

“Ren, I believe this is called peer pressure and we mustn’t-” Goro started but he was interrupted by Ryuji cracking open a beer.

“Nothing quite like crackin’ open a cold with one the bo-” he spewed beer on on Goro. “It’s warm!”

“No shit, it’s warm, numbnuts, it just came out of a duffle bag, not a fridge.”

“Can we save this for like, Saturday? I really don’t want to start missing class,” Crow said. “I just got back into school after being homeless. I’d like to stay in school.”

“Fine.” Minato gave a long, depressed sigh. “We’re getting fucked up on Saturday, though.”

===

“I’m way too old for a girls’ night.” 

“You must be feeling extra bitchy today, doc,” Rio retorted. “Besides, you’re not that much older than Minako.” Rio said this knowing that wouldn’t make her feel any better; Minako was about as mature as Kasumi or Shiho, which was to say she wasn’t mature at all. 

Tae grunted in reply and went and sat next to an open window: Minako told her she could smoke inside if she did it next to an open window. She sighed. Her and Rio were separated from the rest of the party buta good 15 feet. Dr. Takemi hadn’t realized the Phantom Thieves two newest recruits featured one of her patients and the  _ teenage girl that she purchased weed from _ . It was strange, to say the least. Kat, of course, found nothing weird about it, and loudly let Tae know, in front of notable stiff Makoto and Yukari Takeba (who she was sure didn’t actually care, but she played a crime fighting superhero on TV and she featured in several anti-drug PSAs) that she was back in business.

“Nobody actually cares.” Rio had been trying to assure Tae that nobody would give her grief over it. “Kana’s more of a stiff than Makoto and even she’s over it.”

“I heard that!” Kana shouted from across the room. Minako had let the girls into the wine; it turns out Kana is a lightweight, and a very loud drunk. 

“Go back to your sippy cup, Kana, or I’ll tell Minato about your plan.” Rio’s tolerance for drunk Kana was lower than it was for the rest of the group. She did nothing but talk about Minato. “Can you at least try and have fun?”

Tae nodded. “I’ll be better after I finish this.” 

Rio gave her a look, and grabbed the joint she was holding. “Let me finish it. I need it more.”

“She’s really getting to you, huh.” 

Rio didn’t reply.

Makoto was surprised at how well Kat and Kana fit into the group; other than the endless praise for Minato that she was sure was the product of some ridiculous crush, the two were fairly polite.

Polite was never a word she ever thought she’d use to describe Kat Suzuki, but her own world had turned on its ear, so nothing was too surprising. 

“So… Makoto.” She jumped out of her thoughts at the sound of Kasumi addressing her. “How’re things with Goro?”

She stopped and thought about it. “They’re… nice.” 

“Nice, how?” Shiho prodded. 

“What do you want to know? He’s handsome and smart, plus I’m stronger than he is so I don’t have to worry about him trying anything.” 

“Yeah, man, Makoto’s always had top energy so that makes sense she’d prefer that.” Minako and Yukari lost their shit at Kat’s quip; Kana made a move to cover her friend’s mouth while Sumire and Kasumi argued about what that even meant.

“Top?” Sumire questioned innocently.

“I dunno about that one, sis.” She addressed Kat. “What’s that mean?”

“I object to this line of questioning.” Minako interrupted. “Kat, you can corrupt other children when I’m not in the room.”

“Whatever, dude.” She was going to let it go, but Makoto noticed a sly grin. “What about you, Minako? Any stories to share?”

“A million of them,” Yukari answered for her. “And you’ll never hear any of them.” Her tone was flat and the girls decided to change the subject to something far less interesting.

===

“I can’t believe we’re just sitting here.” Akihiko didn’t dare spend more time around Minako than he had to for fear of facing Chihiro’s wrath when he returned home. Her and Minako were friends but Chihiro was understandably wary of her husband hanging around his ex. Akihiko wasn’t a cheater but Minako was a merciless tease with everybody, and he wasn’t about to deal with that.

“We can’t move until Naoto identifies the victims,” Yu said. “It’ll be quicker that way.”

Chie understood Akihiko’s frustrations. She really wanted to fight more shadows. “What if we went and checked out new weapons? I know a place.”

Yu and Akihiko looked at each other. “That sounds like a plan,” Yu replied. 

The trio decided taking the train was the better bet to get to Shibuya; finding parking around there wasn’t worth the time it would take, plus it was expensive.

Once at Central Street, they took a turn down that same alley Chie had been solicited down the last time they visited Untouchable. The same guy was there standing guard, rather than harassing women.

“Nobody gets past here.” He was wearing a purple shirt and a gold chain, with brown hair that might’ve had blonde highlights. “Boss’s orders.”

“I can  _ actually _ break your arm this time, if you’d like,” Chie snapped.

“I’d rather you break my arm than whatever the boss’ll do to me,” the man replied. “Do me a favor, and fuck off.” He reached in his belt for a knife but Akihiko pushed Chie out of the way and nailed his jaw with a right.

“Broken jaws are a little more inconvenient than a broken arm.” He spoke to Chie. “Let’s go. Something shady is going on, here.”

They made their way further into the alley to find the door to Untouchable locked, although they could see four men arguing inside. Iwai, Chie remembered from before, was shouting back when one pulled a handgun and pointed it at him. Before she could act, Akihiko threw his shoulder into the door, breaking the lock. The remnants of the door flew, a shard of glass flying at the gunman, knocking him off balance enough that Iwai could knock the weapon away from him. The other two men took a fighting stance. Neither were large, a bit taller than Chie but shorter than Akihiko. Neither had the weight advantage over Akihiko but they were well built and dressed similarly to the man he had already knocked out. 

One charged Akihiko but he wasn’t expecting a well-trained hook to catch his jaw and he fell back into a merchandise rack. The other charged again but Chie butted in with a side kick that caught the side of his knee, knocking him to the ground. She finished him off with a kick to the head. The shop was torn apart and Iwai was silent.

“Alright. So, I know what you think you were doing, but we need to get the fuck out of here right  _ now _ .”

The four of them scrambled out of the shop and back to Iwai’s house; he had to gather his son and some of his things.

Yu sighed. “I’ll call Mitsuru.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe I was able to reference Big Shaq in a chapter. 
> 
> So, I backed myself into a corner where I'm too miserable to write a story as lighthearted as necessary for these next few chapters, so hopefully I can pull myself out of whatever this funk I'm in is. In case it wasn't obvious, I'm an American who's far too plugged in to the news cycle because it's my literal job. I'm on vacation this week but that hasn't prevented me from being a miserable sod. 
> 
> Chapter 38 will be out soon. Working on 39 and 40 now.


	38. The Hanged Man

_ Friday, June 10th, Before School _

Something had Kaoru’s father, his gruff, no-nonsense father, spooked out of his shoes. He’d returned home with Risette’s boyfriend, that weird hyper tomboy that led them to Untouchable on that initial visit and an extremely large human being with silver hair who looked remarkably similar to Iwai. He was told to gather things he thought he’d need, as they needed to leave.

They’d arrived in a neighborhood Kaoru didn’t know at a house much larger and nicer than anything he’d ever stayed in before, and it was only a block away from his friend Miki’s house, so he was happy with the move. He tried not to think about the reasons why they had to flee. Dad would just get mad at him for asking anyway. 

He was well-versed in the art of keeping his mouth shut. 

To the shock of nobody, Kaoru didn’t sleep well that night. Nightmare after nightmare, potentially memories he didn’t know he had, flooded every non-sleepless second, and every sleepless second was filled with anxiety grown from a combination of the nightmares and the very real-life experience of finding out his adoptive father had a go bag ready at all times. 

He knew that the man he called dad came from a shady background that he refused to talk about, but Kaoru appreciated just how hard his father worked to make sure his son didn’t go down that same path, so he never questioned it. Now? He was filled with a million questions, none of which would probably be answered. So here was Kaoru, sleepless and exhausted, expected to sit through 8 hours of middle school on what would be a less than full stomach. His father surely spent the night drinking away the pain of the previous night. He didn’t get that stressed without a drunken night following. Kaoru instead filled up on instant breakfast pastries. ‘The breakfast of champions. Thank god this place had food.’

It was too early to be up anyway; it was 6:47 a.m. and school didn’t start until 8 a.m. Kaoru had been wearing his uniform since 6:30 a.m. Given this station was closer to the school, he had a good 45 minutes before he needed to leave. 

‘Well, Miki should be awake by now. Maybe I’ll go surprise her.’

The warm season was finally in full swing; the air was heavy and sticky. A good storm would leave Tokyo with beautiful weather, his father had told him at one point, but the days before the storm were always hell. The block walk to the Uehara household had him sweating more than usual, although Kaoru would admit to being sweatier than the average 14-year-old. He liked studying more than exercise, only playing soccer because it would look good on an application to a high school. 

Sadly, practices for the summer soccer season left him with little time to study, or to hang out with Miki. They’d been best friends since they started elementary school together: She made fun of the lunch his father had packed for him and forced Kaoru to eat half of hers. 

It would have been a nice gesture, had she not mercilessly picked on him for  _ weeks  _ over it, to the point where Kaoru asked his dad to do something about it. His response was “she’s got a crush; you figure it out.”

It sucked even more for Kaoru when his dad was right. Luckily, Miki had long been over Kaoru and had since moved on to, well, he didn’t know. He didn’t care, if he was being honest. She was a better friend when she wasn’t being boy crazy. 

Kaoru arrived at his friend’s house and knocked on the door, greeting her mother, who hadn’t yet left for work. Miki’s father had already left for work; he had waved at Kaoru as he drove past.

Miki’s mother asked Kaoru what he was doing in the neighborhood as she led him to Miki’s room; Kaoru had a small lie prepared. 

“My dad decided it was time for a move,” Kaoru said. “Business has picked up a bit and he’d been wanting to upgrade.”

“That’s great to hear!” Miki’s mom was always friendly. “Hopefully things are easier from here on out.”

Kaoru was under the impression that she knew more about his upbringing than his father would tell him but if he ever found out the truth, he’d want to hear it from his father, first.

Kaoru knocked and Miki opened the door. She’d already had her school clothes on, a white dress shirt with suspenders and a black skirt that matched Kaoru’s white shirt and black slacks. She was a bit shorter than Kaoru but she swore she was going to be taller than him some day. “I just haven’t hit my growth spurt yet!”

“Whatever you say, Runt.” Kaoru would reply regularly. The nickname was more of a holdover from when they were kids; Kaoru’s father called him Runt, so he started calling other people that, not realizing the negative connotation. Miki found it funny, instead of rude, so it stuck.

“What’re you doing here?” She was attempting to tie up her messy brown hair that would have been unruly otherwise.

“We’re neighbors, for a bit. Dad and I just moved into a house down the street.”

“Why?”

Kaoru’s eyes downturned. “I’ll tell you on the way to school.” 

She understood, and they continued to make small talk for a bit before leaving the house and heading towards the train station.

“Remember how I told you Risette and her boyfriend came into my dad’s shop?” 

That had been a very, very big deal to Miki, who was mostly furious that Kaoru didn’t call her then stall Risette until she could get there.

“Oh, you mean, when you betrayed me by not calling me immediately?” She wasn’t feigning anger but Kaoru laughed at her anyway. She wasn’t intimidating; her anger was closer to a toddler’s tantrum than the average non-toddler aged person. It was cute. 

“Yeah, sure, betrayal. Like I was going to think clearly when  _ Risette  _ was standing right there.”

She gave a grunt of frustration. “Fine. Why did you and your dad move?”

“I don’t know, but he came back to our apartment with Risette’s boyfriend.” He thought for a second. “There was another girl and a giant man with them. I remember the girl from before but I didn’t talk to her. The man was terrifying.”

“Scarier than your dad?”

“Nobody’s scarier than my dad.” Miki nodded in agreement. Her mother and father loved Kaoru’s dad but she never understood why. His behavior was acceptable at best, and downright rude at worst. “But they told us to pack what we needed and they brought us to a house a block or two from yours. Something about his apartment not being safe.”

“Well, your dad does have that tattoo…” 

“He’s not yakuza!” Kaoru groaned. “I don’t know what’s happening.”

===

Yu knocked on the door to the safehouse and was met with a glare from the man he, along with Chie and Akihiko, had saved last night. Iwai answered the door wordlessly and led him to the kitchen. He’d been drinking already. Yu checked his watch and confirmed that it was indeed far too early to be drinking. He wasn’t that put off by it; Ohya almost always came to work still drunk from the night before.

“I don’t suppose you’re gonna house me without some answers.” Iwai’s voice held much irritation.

“I’d like to think people are capable of doing the right thing without wanting anything in return.” Yu kept his cool. In a way, this guy reminded him of his uncle.

“If you believe that, you’re full of shit.” He sighed. “What do you want?”

“To help. In particular, we want to know who’s shaking you down.”

“I don’t rat.” Yu nearly wilted under the look from Iwai but he held his ground. “Those other two with you are cops.”

“Chie’s not a cop.” Yu corrected. “She left a while ago over ethical differences.”

“Ah. Cool, a cop who thinks they have a conscience.” Iwai sighed. “Other guy is still a cop?”

“In another city, a long way from here. He’s not here on work stuff. His boss would kill him if he was doing police work.”

“Another job?” Iwai asked. “Didn’t realize cops were picking up part time work outside of stadium security.”

“I guess you could call it a job. Look, if you tell us who is shaking you down, we’re the only people that hear of it. No cops.”

“Why should I trust you?” Yu knew he at least had Iwai’s interest.

“What do you know about the Phantom Thieves?”

“Nothing at all.” Iwai was lying. He had suspicions of that Amamiya kid, given the absurd rate at which he went through weapons and all of the strange treasure he brought in.

“They’re friends of ours. You give us a name, we take care of the guy, and you’re free to operate your business.”

“And if it goes bad?”

“You’ll be safe. I can guarantee it.” Yu hoped that wasn’t coming on too strong.

“On who’s dime?”

“Kirijo Group.”

“You didn’t lead with that, why?” Iwai was skeptical that he’d waited til now to name drop someone like Kirijo. 

“We’re just as paranoid as you are.”

“Junya Kaneshiro,” Iwai said. “That’s the guy. He was small time, for a while. We came up together. I left, he didn’t. He wanted a cut of my business since we’re ‘brothers.’ I said no, and we aren’t brothers.”

“He didn’t appreciate that, I’m betting.”

“Nope.”

“Thanks for your help.”

“Not like I had a choice.” Iwai held his head in his hands, rubbing his temples. “Just tell me you can protect Kaoru.”

“We will.”

===

_ After School _

Sumire and Kasumi had a competition tomorrow morning that would last all day and Minako was adamant that they get their last minute preparations in, leaving Ren with a completely free afternoon that wasn’t nearly as relaxing as he wanted it to be. Minato dragged him and Ryuji back to their apartment and wouldn’t tell them why. 

“Dude, I really don’t see what could have you this nervous,” Ryuji said.

“I’ve never seen you this nervous. We’ve come face to face with the Reaper and you barely reacted. I’m almost thinking Minako got shot again.” Ren was taking some joy in the normally stoic Minato acting like a frazzled kid. They reached the apartment when Minato revealed the cause of his anxiety: On his bed sat the box for a brand new iPhone 11.

“I don’t know what to do with it.” Minato’s tone was filled with fear. “What if it like, explodes?”

“That’s only Samsungs that do that,” Ren joked, much to Minato’s horror.

“There  _ are  _ phones that explode! I knew it!” 

Ren and Ryuji had barely been able to stop their laughter but this time, they couldn’t control it.

“Your phone won’t explode!” Ren finally got out. “Are you really that scared of it?”

“...are you going to make fun of me if I say yes?”

“Only a little bit, dude,” Ryuji replied. “So, you need us to show you how to use a phone?”

Minato nodded.

“Did you only get a phone so you could talk to Kana?” Ren asked.

“...yes.”

“You’re a worse simp than the fucking cat.”

===

**Ren added Minato Arisato, Kana Hasegawa and Katsuo Suzuki to the group chat**

**MtA:** Guess who got a phone!

**MkA:** just so you could talk to kana

**KH:** it’s true

**KH:** he told me

**AT:** who spends that much money on someone they barely know

**MkA:** my brother is a simp

**KH:** his name in my phone is Simpato

**MtA:** that’s rude

**RA:** SIMP

**RS:** be nice. 

**KS:** fuckin simps bruh

**RF:** (eyeroll emoji) this is the darkest timeline

**RA:** This isn’t even close to the darkest timeline 

**FS:** What phone you get

**MtA:** iPhone 11

**FS:** dope. Haven’t broken the encryption on that, I’ll get started

**RA:** Futaba

**FS:** what

**RA:** stop spying on us

**FS:** no

**FS:** mom’s being boring. I need entertainment

**YK:** you could come enjoy art with me

**FS:** id rather eat Morgana’s poop

**RA:** I think Fox was asking you out

**FS:** fucking Inari.

**YK:** I… wasn’t doing that.

**YM:** Minato if you want help from someone who won’t roast you for needing it, I’ll help you.

**SS:** tbh we really needed Yuuki here to even out the troll levels in our group

**AT:** I can’t believe you made me stop so you could reply to the group chat

**SY:** stop what

**SS:** NOTHING

**KY:** I did the same

**SY:** STOP WHAT

Coach Hiraguchi was very mad at both of the twins for using their water break to reply to text messages. She was also kind of proud that her girls had friends they felt were worth replying to. They’d been hermits before this year.

===

_ Evening _

Sae and Naoto sat at Crossroads in Shinjuku watching a sober Yu Narukami try and wrangle a very inebriated Ichiko Ohya so he could talk to her about a story. She hadn’t shown up to work that day, and was currently spending her evening spinning around in her barstool and shouting about how much she loved spinny chairs. Sae was at least impressed at her ability to spin in circles for so long without vomiting, especially while drunk.

“Ohya-san! Come on!” Yu never got this rattled. “We need to talk about work and since you can’t be hassled to show up, we need to do this now.”

Lala had seen enough and crossed the bar, grabbed Ohya by the waist and carried her to the booth where Sae and Naoto sat, plopping her down. 

“If you guys could get her home after this, I’d appreciate it.” Lala huffed. “She’s been a pain in the ass lately.”

“Don’t act like she’s not always a pain in the ass,” Yu replied.

“She’s been a bigger pain in the ass lately.”

“That’s more like it.”

Crossroads was dead, for it being a Friday, and their booth was secluded enough that they could probably have a conversation here but regardless, they only spoke of names using a paper and pencil. Yu slid a note that read “Junya Kaneshiro” over to Ohya.

“What do you know?”

“That you’re asking to be murdered.” Ohya slurred out. Her mood had turned sour at seeing the name. “Is this for a story? It’ll get the boot quick.” She burped. “I -urp- wouldn’t bother.”

“Is he that dangerous?” Naoto urged her to keep speaking.

“You’re both far too pretty to be working on this case.” Another burp. “He’ll just kill Naru-” she stopped, like the thought left her, then continued. “Narukami here. You two will get sold off to some rich guy in Vietnam with a shock kink.”

“He’s going after a friend.”

“I’d get that friend out of Tokyo, then, and probably yourselves, too.” Ohya sighed. “Nobody asks around about this guy without him hearing about it.” At least she wasn’t too drunk to blurt out a name, Naoto thought.

“What’s his business?”

“What isn’t? He runs- urp-” She lost her thought, then yelled “Lala-chan! Get the bucket! Mama’s gonna puke and rally!” Then she went back. “Shibuya. Start there.”

Lala did, in fact, bring a bucket, and Ohya did, in fact, puke and rally. Yu and Naoto were disgusted and surprised to find out Sae wasn’t.

“Neither of you have ever been in law school.”

===

Ren, Goro and Makoto arrived at Tae’s apartment to find it a bit louder than they’d anticipated. The doctor had company in the form of Kat and Kanji Tatsume. The apartment stank like they couldn’t believe and the music was playing louder than necessary, in English, of course, because that was all Tae would listen to.

_ “You want dramatic? Then I will give you dramatic./In high school, hid in the closet and then I died in the attic/And when the bullies all found me, they called me a maggot/They said that, "boys don't play with dolls, saw you at the mall/You better stand up tall, I know just how you fall/It takes a certain kind to satisfy my type/That doesn't make me wrong, doesn't make you right."  _

Kanji was nodding his head to what Ren assumed was the beat, but he couldn’t hear it. It was too frenetic to pick up. 

“Ugh!” Goro coughed upon entering the hazy room. “Did you guys get skunked?”

Kanji and Tae laughed.

“Nah, dude.” She held out a little glass instrument Ren hadn’t seen before. “Wanna try?”

Makoto interrupted before he could answer. “No, we don’t.” Her tone was terse and she tried to provide a glare that unfortunately didn’t reach the mark with Kat. Her eyes were bloodshot and her speech was slowed, meaning not much would hit with her right now.

‘I can’t believe how irresponsible you three are being!’ Makoto wanted to say, but it wasn’t her apartment and it wasn’t her battle. Goro seemed annoyed but not surprised.

“Where’s Rio?” Goro asked. 

“She’s in her room, studying, like a loser,” Kat said, watching Makoto’s red eyes glow with rage. “Just kidding. She’s behaving. Unlike us.” She sighed. “Shit, I missed this though. Nobody ever smoked with me on the other side.”

Ren mostly laughed at the attitude Goro and Makoto took towards their friends marijuana use. He always told himself that he didn’t have any regrets from the time loops but that was a lie. Had he known how many of them would fail, he would have tried more drugs. Nothing mattered anyway, right? What’s meth to someone who can’t die?

‘That’s a dangerous thought. I’m glad this will end soon. Hopefully.’

They entered Goro and Rio’s room to find her with her nose in a very fluffy-looking manga; she let out an “eep!” and hid the book when they walked in.

“Studying hard, I see,” Ren teased. Her eyes were puffy and red, like she was crying. Although she could have been stoned. 

Her voice croaked when she spoke. “I wanted to be left alone.”

“Can I talk to her for a minute?” Makoto and Goro nodded. Ren was more well-versed in the kinds of issues it seemed like Rio was having. The two left the room, leaving Ren and Rio alone. “What’s up?”

Rio had a case of the sniffles that followed her tears. “I visited my mom yesterday.” She blew her nose. “It went well.”

“It sure seems like it went well.” Ren chuckled lightly.

“I just didn’t know what to expect. She was so normal.” She slung her legs over the side of the bed and leaned forward a bit, matching Ren’s posture. Ren was sitting in an office chair, leaning forward in a way that let her know he was listening. “I wasn’t done being mad. But she was my mom again. She was loving and sweet like she used to be.”

“And you aren’t ready to forgive her.”

“I’m not. I don’t know if I’ll ever be. But her being so sweet…” she sighed. “It makes me feel guilty for not being ready.”

“I understand.”

“I feel like a gigantic asshole.”

“You aren’t.” Ren was trying to form a thought.

“I feel like I am, though. She’s a different person now. She’s not the person I’m mad at.” Rio tightened her fists. “It’s like she gets off scot-free.”

“She might not be the same person, but that doesn’t free her from the consequences of her actions. She may not have committed any criminal acts like your father, but your anger is her consequence.”

Rio nodded.

“You could try and tell her that, if she ever asks why you won’t forgive her. Did she ask for forgiveness?”

Rio shook her head. “She told me she didn’t expect me to be happy to see her.”

“Which didn’t help put you at ease.” Ren nodded, repeating it more for his sake than her sake. “It only adds to the guilt.”

“Yeah. It does.”

“Rio, nobody thinks less of you for being mad at her. We’re all on your side.”

“Thanks, Ren.” The tears were gone and the only evidence left that she was crying was her hoarse voice. “Also. A side note that could affect us. I think she’s got a crush on Sojiro.”

“Everybody’s got a crush on Sojiro. I kind of have a crush on Sojiro.” Ren laughed.

“I wonder if she calls him Daddy.”

“Now  _ I’m  _ the one that needs a pep talk. Thanks for that, Rio.”

“Any time.”

“You’re grounded from hanging out with Kasumi and Shiho.” He thought for a second. “And Kat.”

“Yes, daddy!”

“Okay, you’re off the team.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I use the term "go bag" in this chapter. It's pretty basic, but I'll give a definition. Basically, it's a bag of necessary items that's always ready to go in case you have to flee. I have a go bag, myself. It's mostly just non-parishable food, a few changes of clothes, an extra phone charger and a fully charged phone bank. A lot of people recommend a firearm, but guns are expensive and I'm a journalist who likes writing fanfic. Money isn't necessarily something I'll ever have a lot of. 
> 
> The song referenced in this chapter is Westboro Sadness by McCafferty. The album it's on, Yarn, is a major source of angst-inspiration for me.


	39. An Embarrassing Victory

_ Saturday, June 11th, Afternoon _

It should have been a banner day for Coach Hiraguchi and her two gymnasts, and in a way it was. She’d spent all morning fielding questions on how she got such rapid improvement from her two students. Sadly, she couldn’t answer any of those questions. 

“I was out of the country,” she’d told one of the coaches who she was friendlier with, chuckling. “Whatever they did to get better, they did on their own.” She thought about Minako. She deserved credit. “Their substitute coach, I think, had a lot to do with their improvement.”

“Who was the substitute?” 

“Minako Arisato. I really can’t recommend her enough if you have anyone asking about a coach. She swears up and down that she isn’t after my job but she really should be.”

It was the first time Hiraguchi had two gymnasts reach the podium at the same time; Kasumi and Sumire were first and second in all four events. Kasumi won first on the beam and the bars, and Sumire won first on her floor routine and vault, where she stuck a particularly difficult landing that would have snapped a normal person’s leg. It was the same move she’d done in practice on Hiraguchi’s first day back that the coach had assumed was an accident. 

Why wasn’t today a banner day?

It turns out that the Yoshizawas were not okay with splitting the events. Instead, they bickered nonstop the second they were out of an earshot of other coaches and gymnasts.

“You only won vault because of your monstrous legs!” Kasumi shouted at her sister.

“They’re not monstrous!”

“They are kind of monstrous…” Minako interrupted but got shut out immediately.

“I only lost to you by half of a point on beam.” Sumire’s complaint was more akin to pouting. “I could have easily won that.”

“Well, you shouldn’t have won anything.” Kasumi gave a grunt. “It’s obvious I had the better day. And I’m the better athlete.”

“That’s not true!” Sumire’s voice was a little louder. “Just because you  _ were _ better than me, doesn’t mean you still are.” 

“You can’t even come up with your own sentences!” Kasumi had heard Ren say something similar, once.

And the arguing continued on to other things, like who had the better grades (Sumire, undoubtedly), who could eat the most (Kasumi had that one; Sumire was the better cook, they decided), who was better at Smash Bros. (Kasumi owned that one, there was actually very little argument: Sumire preferred Mortal Kombat), and eventually things calmed down into discussing what differences the twins had.

It would have continued to calm down until Kasumi made a comment about Souji being more attractive than Ren. That statement caused all hell to break loose, especially after Minako sided with Sumire. 

“Narukami is too much of a boy scout.” Minako had said. Hiraguchi thought her eyes were going to roll out of her head. She silently thanked the heavens that these girls weren’t her problem for a few weeks. 

“Yeah, and at least my boyfriend is actually a hu-” Minako was quick to shut Sumire’s mouth for her, a hand clamped over the young girl’s face. “Urk! I can’t breath!”

“Shh.” 

===

**Sumire:** Plans tonight?

**Ren:** Guy’s night part 2.

**Sumire:** Oh. :(

**Ren:** We were gonna invite all the girls.

**Sumire:** Oh. :)

**Ren:** Minato is bringing booze.

**Sumire:** what

===

**Minato:** Party at my place

**Minato:** If it’s ok with sis

**Minako:** idc. 

**Kat:** 420 friendly?

**Minato:** idk what that means

**Minako:** only if you bring enough to share with the class

**Kat:** famous last words

**Ren: “** The Phantom Thieves do drugs” wasn’t on my radar

**Ryuji:** I thought we were just drinking

**Minako:** nobody ran that by me

**Makoto:** Please, for the love of god, say no

**Minako:** As long as you guys don’t leave, idc

**Makoto:** I am the only adult in the group

**Tae:** I’m down. Haven’t drank in a bit

**Makoto:** what the fuck

**Ryuji:** Language!

**Makoto:** sorry Ryuji

**Ren:** Last time I was around drunk people I got thrown in juvie

**Goro:** I was living behind a dumpster in Shinjuku

**Ren:** cool we can be traumatized together

**Makoto:** stop hitting on my boyfriend, Ren. 

**Ren:** Sumire and Kasumi are coming too. So is Souji

**Minako:** I always wanted to do this but Kirijo would never let me

**Minato:** this is technically a Kirijo owned dorm

**Minato:** We should probably invite Akihiko…

**Minako:** and watch Yukari stab him in his sleep? No thank you.

**Minako:** She’s still madder than I ever was.

**Ren:** maybe don’t have this discussion in a group chat.

**Shiho:** fuck

**Rio:** dammit

**Minato:** Everyone gonna be there?   
**Ren:** Got three of us and Souji

**Makoto:** I’ll be there to make sure nobody dies

**Goro:** I’m in.

**Shiho:** Ann and I are in

**Kat:** me n Kana will be there

**Kat:** plus enough ganj for everyone

**Tae:** Kanji wants to come too

**Yuuki:** My parents would kill me

**Ren:** Puss

**Yusuke:** We will be there.

**Ren:** Hey Minato

**Ren:** What’s Aigis do all day?

**Minato:** bug Yukari, mostly. Why?

**Ren:** just curious

===

“What do you mean we have a mission?” It wasn’t like Kanji to complain, but Yu noticed some irritation in his voice when he asked for Kanji’s help.

“I mean, we have a literal mission,” Yu urged. “Come on, man, it’s the first mission we’ve had in forever. Whatever you had planned can probably wait…”

“You’re right, dude.” Kanji was really excited for that party. “I had plans with the Phantom Thieves tonight.”

“I thought they were laying low?”

“They’re throwing a party tonight.” Kanji had some resignation in his voice. He was kind of excited to hang out with the kids without the rest of the Investigation Team. They seemed more his speed.

“Oh. Well, go hang with them after. It’ll give you a chance to ask them questions if we run into anything weird.”

“A’ight, leader. I can do that.” Kanji hung up the phone and started heading to Yu’s place. 

===

“I’d feel more comfortable if I knew who we were going after and why,” Yosuke told Yu when the Investigation Team got together. “When we were going into the TV, we always had a reason. This just feels like Chie got bored and dragged us all into it. What if this is as expansive as Maruki?”

“Well, the Thieves were as awed by that palace as we were,” Rise said. “We can at least assume this won’t be one that encompasses the entire world.” Yu gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“We don’t know how big this one will be, which is why we’re starting now.” He looked at Naoto. “How many victims have you found so far?”

“I’m up to 15. I’d like to do them all at once, though, rather than gradually. We had good luck with that, last time.”

“So it’ll be awhile?”

“It’ll be a bit, yes.” Naoto sighed. 

“So we have time. But this would be a lot easier if you just let the Thieves do it their way…” Chie said. Her and Akihiko had held a discussion with Yu talking about how the Thieves working outside of the law reminded them of their younger days. He wasn’t having anything of it, saying Naoto wouldn’t let them.

Yu pulled his phone out. He had a good group this day; everybody was there except Teddie, who couldn’t miss the new episode of Featherman. It was a gametime decision who stayed behind to tape the newest episode: Naoto had no intention of missing it, but duty called, and Yu didn’t give her a choice. Akihiko had joined them, given he was in town to fight and he felt he hadn’t had enough of an opportunity to do so thus far. 

Yu pulled out his phone and entered the name first: Junya Kaneshiro. 

“Candidate found.”

“Anyone got any idea for the distortion?” Yu asked the group.

“Greed!” Rise shouted. “Duh.”

“Distortion confirmed.” Yu gave her a proud smile. “Location next. I think Iwai said he runs Shibuya, so that’s a clue.”

“Location confirmed.”

“Okay, that was lucky. We really can’t bank on bullshit luck to do this, though.”

The room started changing colors and they found themselves on Central Street; the sky was puke green and red in places and the lighting was off. Instead of people, the street was filled with ATMs with legs.

“How did that work?” Yu started to say but he looked around his group and saw them staring upward.

“Uh. I think that floating bank is the palace. Ain’t that right, Naoto?” Kanji said it first.

“I- yeah. It has to be.”

The group wandered around Shibuya searching for any possible way to get to it. Yu asked the group if it was ironic that the bank was ‘untouchable.’ He was met with a round of jeers from his friends.

===

Ren had gone to the grocery store to pick up some things to make curry; he’d helped Ohya sober up enough times to know that food helped immensely, and he figured he could at least be partially responsible tonight.

His phone rang, though, and he stupidly answered despite seeing Yu Narukami’s name flash across the screen. It wasn’t out of any malice towards Yu, as much as it was Ren realizing every second spent with Yu meant something awful, beyond their control would happen. 

“Please tell me there wasn’t another train accident.” Ren answered the phone without a greeting, but his tone was playful enough.

“I feel like I got hit by a train, if that makes you feel any better.”

“It doesn’t. What’s up?”

“So, we kinda sorta thought we could take on a palace.”

“I’ll be at Minako’s in an hour if you want to stop by.” Of course, this party would turn into something work related. “We’re supposed to be having a party, if you want to join.” Ren gave it another thought. “Odds this ends up not being a party after we talk?”

“Very high.” Yu said, flatly.

Ren checked out and made his way towards Minako’s. 

===

_ Evening _

Ren was greeted by Yu the second he walked into Minako and Minato’s apartment, meaning he was either already in the neighborhood, or he was going to show up whether they wanted him there or not. 

“You’re gonna be mad at me.” Yu had run his story by Minako and Minato before Ren got there and  _ they _ were mad at him. It was a special event when Minako got mad at anyone, so Yu knew he really messed up. Ren just nodded. “We found a palace.”

“And? That’s good?”

“We tried to infiltrate it today.”

“And I’m assuming it didn’t go well?” Yu nodded. Ren sighed. “What kind of ‘wrong’ did it go?” 

“Well, I zapped an autonomous ATM in an attempt to get up to a bank floating in the sky.” Yu realized how crazy that sounded as he spoke.

Ren took it in stride. “Oh. That’s Kaneshiro’s palace. He was next on our list.”

Yu blinked hard and flinched. “Not mad?”

“ _ Fuck _ no! That palace is a pain in the ass! The shadows there aren’t that bad. You guys should steamroll those, but good luck with the puzzles.”

“Puzzles?” Yu gave a concerned look.

“Well, for one, you won’t even be able to get up to the bank unless somebody with you is considered a ‘customer.’ In my experiences, that means bringing with you someone who’s in massive debt to Kaneshiro. It was usually Makoto for us, which is a really long story that’s not particularly interesting other than she almost got sold into sex trafficking.”

“That actually sounds really interesting, though,” Yu said. 

“Yeah, but given-” Ren looked around and gestured wildly. “It’s kind of secondary to everything else. She doesn’t even remember that, so I don’t feel bad about downplaying its importance.”

“I’ll be honest, you’re making me feel really stupid right now.”

“112 years experience, bud. Don’t let it get you down.” Ren laughed. “How’d you even find out about Kaneshiro? People have pretty tight lips about him.”

“The guy that owns Untouchable was getting shaken down when we went in for more weapons.” 

“Oh, great.” Ren thought about how surly Iwai was going to be about all this. “Is Kaoru okay?” 

“The kid? Yeah, why?” Yu had gotten them to a safehouse, he thought. They better be safe.

“I think there was a timeline where Kaneshiro tried to kidnap him. I don’t remember it too well, but I remember it being stressful.” Ren gave a thoughtful look. “It’s not like Iwai to accept help.”

“Oh, yeah, he’s pretty pissed.” Yu relayed the whole story of what happened to Ren, who nodded along.

“Okay,” Ren started. “So, I’m only mad you didn’t tell me what you were doing beforehand.”

“Understandable.”

“Next time you guys meet, I’ll come and we can go over how to get you guys into the actual bank. It’s not an easy process.”

===

Jiro Madarame’s father hadn’t left his bed in days, but he wasn’t sick. Jiro had checked his temperature multiple times in hopes that his father was just ill. Instead, the elderly artist sobbed uncontrollably, loudly confessing his crimes to his only companion, a son that didn’t want him around, that only lived with him because his mother was dead. 

He thought back to anything weird that could have happened in the last few days. There was that strange maintenance man that nobody called for, his father swore up and down. The colorful door upstairs that was permanently locked was open when he went back upstairs after the strange man left. Jiro closed it without a second thought. That was the only weird thing he could think of.

‘But what could that have to do with anything?’

“Jiro,” his father cried out. Jiro had been in his own room working on a new painting that, hopefully, he would be allowed to put his own name on. “Please, call Natsume.” His father’s agent, Jiro knew. “I must schedule a press conference.”

Jiro did as he was asked. He had another number to call, as well. A drunk reporter had shown up at their home the day after the strange maintenance man. Ohya, she said her name was. Maybe telling her about the maintenance man before his father went public with  _ something _ would allow him to get ahead of the story. 

It was a plan, at least. 

He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He fucking hated that old man. ‘Why am I jumping through hoops for him?’

Obligation. That was his reason. He was obligated to show love to the person who provided him with life. ‘What bullshit.’

===

“You gonna make a move on Minato tonight?”

“Huh?” Kana jolted out of a thought. “No?”

“Dude, y’all can’t keep playing this.” Kat was sitting on her bed mashing away at a Gameboy Color; if she held up, A and B at the same time, she’d have a better chance of catching a Chansey… “Fuck. It got away.”

“You think he likes me?”

“Either that or he loves heights.” Something bad must’ve happened in her game. “Motherfucker! Fucking poison.”

“The fuck you mean by that?” Kana spat back.

“I mean you’re seven feet tall, ‘n you can’t teach that.”

“I feel like I’m missing something.” Kana replied with much confusion. “I’m not 7 feet tall.”

“Might as well be. A dude finally shows interest ‘n you’re completely clueless.”

“I’m not clueless! I’m just not sure if he’s actually interested.”

“You kiddin’? He looks at you with the same eyes Kawakami gives me.”

Kana gave her friend an odd look.

“What? The woman loves her weed.” Kat looked up from her game for the first time in a bit. “I wonder what she’s like in the sack.”

Kana gave a yelp, then remained silent. She didn’t have the patience for Kat tonight. 

===

Kaoru felt sorry for his dad, in a sense. He couldn’t remember a time when Untouchable was closed for more longer than what it was normally closed for nighty. The old timer had to be bored out of his mind. He never offered to play cards unless he was bored.

They found an Uno deck in one of the drawers, which was much more Kaoru and Miki’s speed. Iwai offered to teach them poker but the kids both agreed it would take too much effort to learn right now. Kaoru had just had his life uprooted, so he was already exhausted, as his father was.

They sat around the table and Iwai doled out the cards; he played Uno a bit differently than the normal rules. Instead of drawing one card if a player doesn’t have one to play, they draw  _ until _ they have one to play. He called it “fuck you Uno” and said he picked it up from some friends. He left out the part where they had to take a drink every time they picked up a new card. He would certainly be playing by that rule.

Miki won the first game fairly quickly, something that wasn’t normal with “fuck you” Uno, Iwai noted. Games usually dragged on a bit longer that way.

“Do I get a prize?” She was used to being able to bat her lashes and get her way but the Iwai men seemed to be immune. It was probably why she kept Kaoru around. 

She couldn’t read the look Kaoru gave her but his father replied before he could. “We used to play for beers. Loser has to grab the winner a beer from the fridge.”

“Dad!” 

The older Iwai gave his son a sheepish look. “Sorry, you’re kids. Maybe in a couple years. I think there’s soda in there.” He got up and checked, grabbed a cola and tossed it back to Miki. He grabbed a second for Kaoru. “That one’s free.”

They played for a little while longer; Miki took another game and then Kaoru’s dad finally won a game, several beers later.

“Mr. Iwai, why’d you guys move?” Kaoru’s friend questioned.

“Didn’t ya hear? It was time to move on.”

“No offense, sir, but somebody running an airsoft shop in Shibuya wouldn’t be able to afford this place.” The house wasn’t fancy, Miki knew, but she wasn’t stupid. She’d regularly heard her parents complain about how expensive the real estate surrounding theirs had gotten. It’s proximity to Shibuya and a good school made it a premium neighborhood. They were mostly just angry that it caused their property taxes to go up. 

Iwai sighed. Neither Kaoru nor Miki had ever seen him this down. He seemed defeated, and if they asked him, that was the word he’d have used. He had his tail between his legs, accepting protection from someone he’d almost definitely never met, who probably would have rescinded their help the second they found out about his past.

“I gotta stop letting Kaoru hang out around other smart kids,” he said, chuckling after. “I got in with some bad people a long time ago. Nobody ever really leaves that life.”

“What kind of bad people?” Miki was questioning in place of Kaoru, who was shocked stiff. 

“None of your concern. The less you know, the better.” Miki nodded. She’d heard her parents talk about Iwai’s past before but she never got full details. She decided not to push any further. It was getting late.

“Sorry if I brought up anything painful,” Miki said upon her exit.

“Nah, kid. Existence is pain.” The older Iwai said and Kaoru laughed.

Miki had been gone for a few minutes when Kaoru decided that he wanted answers. “So, dad, why are we here?”

“I told you already.”

“Yeah, but you’re still hiding something.”

“I am. And I’m going to keep hiding it.” He grunted. “I shouldn’t have said anything. Fuck!” He pounded a fist on the counter. Kaoru jumped. “Sorry! That wasn’t because of you.”

“I should be used to it.”

“My temper ain’t that bad, kid. Not compared to what I grew up around.”

“You never talk about your childhood.” Kaoru had taken to leaning against the counter while his father worked on dishes. 

“Ain’t nothin’ special. Used to get in a lotta scraps.”

Kaoru tried to question further but his dad shut him down, opting to go to bed instead of dealing with more questioning.

===

Despite everyone being comrades in arms and mostly best friends, the party at Minato and Minako’s had largely become segregated between the men and women because that’s how literally every high school party ends up if there’s no alcohol involved. Given Minato had zero idea how much beer would be needed for such a large party, he definitely didn’t bring enough for everybody. The only people that brought enough of anything were Ren, who had brought more than enough curry ingredients and Kat, who brought enough weed with her to get a life sentence in the prison of her choice in any country in the world.

“Who in their right mind would get you  _ that _ much?” Tae couldn’t believe this high schooler brought a literal ounce with her. 

“Dude was scrambling. I only wanted a couple grams.” He seemed spooked when she stopped into his shop but she didn’t question it. “He musta been expectin’ the cops or something. He handed me everything he had and said to return what I don’t smoke.”

“Shit.” Tae had been in the process of rolling a joint as Kat shared the story. “How much you-”

“No drug dealing in my apartment!” Minako shouted from across the room.

“We’ll talk later.” Kat told Tae. They passed the joint around their little group; Kanji and Rio had joined them. Everyone else was scattered about, segregated by gender. The girls sat at the couch, something innocuous on TV getting drowned out by the excited arguing of the Yoshizawa twins.

The day had devolved into contest after contest, since the gymnastics meet did nothing to sate either’s extreme and obnoxious lust for competition. This time, they were arguing about who had the strongest Persona. Had Ren been paying attention, he’d have been able to explain that they were at the same level, something that benefitted the team greatly because they worked together better than literally everyone else. Unfortunately, Shiho and Minako were the ones paying closest attention, providing little prods here and there to keep the argument going. 

“I don’t know, guys, I think bless skills are way more useful,” Shiho would say at one juncture, much to the annoyance of Sumire, who had bless skills but mostly relied on physical attacks. 

Minako would take the other side. “But physical attacks hit harder, plus Sumire’s Persona is way cooler.”

The arguing stopped, eventually, when both the twins realized they were being goaded for the entertainment of their friends.

“You guys are dicks.” Kasumi said, joining her sister in her pouting.

“I agree. It’s not really an argument. We both know I’m better.”

The rest of the room, bar Kasumi and Souji, who knew better, busted up laughing.

Kasumi squeezed Souji’s hand, silently thanking him for not joining in. Regardless of the jovial nature of her little spat with Sumire, she was still a bit sore at being stuck in a tie. 

Ren, meanwhile, watched the awkward dance of Kana trying to talk to Minato, Minato getting distracted, then Kana walking away, then Kana walking back again, then nothing happening. It was funny at least, but he couldn’t help but feel bad for both parties. He couldn’t tell if Minato was clueless or not interested.

“RenRen!” Ren jumped at the weird nickname. “Huh? What?”

“What’re you doing?” Ryuji had been having an animated discussion with Yuuki that Ren hadn’t been interested in.

“Watching Kana strike out because Minato is clueless.”

“Bro.” Ryuji gave him a serious look. “That’s kind of mean.” Minato had been over talking to Rio and Kat, so realistically Kana should have had zero issue butting into the conversation. “I’ll handle this.”

Ryuji walked over and grabbed Minato by the shoulders and said something Ren couldn’t quite make out. Then he grabbed Kana’s arm; he was probably the only person that could have pulled her over the way he did; and dragged her over to stand in front of Minato.

“There. Talk. We’re tired of watching you two act like effin kids.”

Kat laughed and made her way over towards the rest of the girls, while Rio walked over towards Ren. 

Ryuji was a hero to Kana and Minato, who had been playing coy with each other all night, and the supreme villain to Rio, who had been trying to foil their plans. Rio, herself, wasn’t sure if she was doing it on purpose or not.

===

Kana had been trying to corner Minato all night but every time she tried, Rio and Kat were just  _ right _ there. For being her two closest friends, they sure were doing a great job of cockblocking her tonight.

Kat was her usual clueless self, but it wasn’t like Rio to be this clueless. Although, being fair, Kana hadn’t known Rio until a literal week ago. ‘What the fuck even is time?’ It felt like it’d been longer than a week, and she felt like she’d crumble under the pressure of her crush on Minato. This wasn’t like her, she’d realized, but then again, hanging out with Kat wasn’t like her either and she wouldn’t trade that friendship for the world.

Now that Ryuji had separated her and Minato from the group, she could feel her resolve crumbling. She couldn’t believe that the delinquent, the track traitor, Ryuji Sakamoto, was at fault for her current situation… ‘no, that’s not fair.’ She thought to herself. He’s been nothing but polite in her short time actually getting to know him. He actually seemed like a level headed, at worst blunt, mediator, rather than the rebellious hotheaded buffoon she expected. She wished he was the hotheaded buffoon she expected, because then she could deflect. 

Now she was face to face with the object of her affection and she had zero idea how to handle it.

“So, uh, what’s up?” ‘Genius first move,’ she thought. Her mother would be proud. All those years of shogi certainly hadn’t paid off. 

“Not much, Kana. You want something?”

“...” the words weren’t coming to her at all, and she was certain her cheeks were redder than the ripest cherry. 

The silence was long and awkward and she swore she saw Minato grin once, but after a short amount of time his cheeks were just as red and he was looking anywhere but at Kana.

Minako shouted something from across the room. “Hey bro, flirting’s easier if you talk!”

Kana could hear Kat and Rio giggle to themselves in the corner. It looked like they were lighting up again, so they may have been talking about something else.

The words bubbled up but didn’t crack the surface in the way they normally did. Instead of leaving her mouth normally, they left like a barf. “I think we should hang out sometime!” It was much louder than she intended and she was pretty sure she spat on accident when she opened her mouth.

Minato rubbed the back of his head. “Uh. Sure. Like a date?”

Kana nodded, her public embarrassment over.

===

Minato had given Futaba permission to use his bedroom, a decision that would normally be a horrific mistake but given the circumstances that it was a party, and even among friends, Futaba didn’t like parties, he felt it was the right decision.

Futaba made the most of her time in the least malicious way she could possibly think: She had a  _ lot _ of curiosity about Aigis, and Aigis was fairly agreeable to not be in a crowded room, as long as she could keep an eye in Minato in case any danger were to arise. She was constantly on guard, from what Futaba understood. She took Minato’s initial death as a personal affront that sapped her will to live. For some reason, Futaba felt like she could relate. 

Aigis sat still while Futaba poked and prodded a little bit and jumped when Aigis addressed her. “It would be simpler to ask questions. There isn’t much to learn from your inspection.”

Futaba didn’t know  _ why _ she expected Aigis to just be a robot. She just didn’t really know what to expect.

“Sorry, I-” Futaba thought about it. “Are you an android?”

“No, I’m an iPhone.” Futaba stared back at Aigis, unsure of whether or not that was a joke.

She decided no selling the humor was the right move. “What are you, exactly?”

“I’m an anti-shadow weapon.”

“But like, how do you work? If I plugged you into my computer, could you hold files?”

Aigis shook her head. “I highly doubt you could gain access to the equipment needed for that.”

“Not like I would want to anyway.” Futaba didn’t really know what her plans were. She really just thought having a robot friend would be cool. “What do you do all day while Minato is at school?”

“Whatever I want.” There was an odd defiance in her voice that Futaba picked up on. It sounded like Minato.

“I… I don’t do much while the others are busy.” Futaba was still attending her final year of middle school but she wasn’t much for extra-curriculars. If she couldn’t find hacking work, things got awfully lonely, especially when her mother was busy.

“Me neither. Do you go into sleep mode, as well?”

“What?” Futaba thought for a second. “Actually, that’s basically what it’s like. I don’t do it on purpose, though. It’s like I run out of batteries.”

“I don’t run on batteries. You must be an older model.”

“I’m not a robot!”

“Had me fooled.”

Futaba still didn’t feel like joining the rest of the party, but her correspondence with Aigis had her feeling much less nervous. Aigis also found herself enjoying Futaba’s company after a bit, to the point where she had been able to participate in what Minako referred to as “ball busting.” 

Aigis wasn’t sure if Futaba had those, but she enjoyed the conversation, regardless.

Futaba was just happy she made friends with an android, achieving one of her childhood dreams.

===

_ Sunday, June 12th, Early Morning _

Rio was still a bit stoney baloney from the night before when she woke up sitting in a barstool in a room she only barely recognized next to a beautiful blonde woman in blue she remembered being extremely bewitching from her first visit here. The man with the long nose was on the other side, said nose buried in a notebook. His left hand was scribbling something in a notebook.

“You’ve taken a most unusual route towards creating bonds,” the blonde woman said. Rio tried to remember her name…’Elizabeth!’ The woman’s smile wasn’t toothy like Ryuji’s or Kat’s; to Rio, it felt like it had purpose, a demure smile meant to put her at ease. In a way, it was similar to the one Ann shared only with Shiho when Shiho was being a little shit in the way Ann liked.

“Have I?” Rio replied, trying to supply a playful tone but instead sounding like a stoner. Apparently, the high stuck around through a trip to the Velvet Room. 

Elizabeth laughed a small laugh. “Can’t you tell?”

Rio thought about it. “I can’t, honestly. What do you mean by bonds?”

Elizabeth thumbed through a book sitting on the bar in front of her; Rio hadn’t seen it get placed there, but she hadn’t been paying much attention. Each page had an Arcana listed.

“Yours is quite different from what I’m used to; you’ve many duplicates, as expected with how you were inserted into the game. The World. Ren Amamiya. The Universe. Minato Arisato.” She looked at Rio. “Achieving The World arcana is something often not accomplished in centuries. One of your closest confidants has already done so.”

“What does that mean?”

“In due time,” Elizabeth said. She continued listing Rio’s closest friends. “The Emperor. Goro Akechi. Death. Tae Takemi. Chariot. Shiho Suzui. Magician. Katsuo Suzuki. Empress. Kana Hasegawa. Hierophant. Reiko Fujinami.”

“All of my friends fit into a category?” Rio asked. “And my mom?”

“Such is the life of a trickster. There are still more to come.” Elizabeth smiled politely. “You still have much to learn. Sooner, rather than later, this journey will become yours.”

===

_ Morning _

Ren had woken up early to help Sojiro with his Sunday morning opening to be greeted by Goro sitting at the bar. Sojiro must’ve let him in before open. ‘That’s nice of him,’ Ren thought.

“Good morning,” Goro said. Ren swore he looked like he hadn’t slept all night. 

“What’s up?” 

“Ah, just decided I wanted coffee before I head to Tae’s.” He couldn’t meet Ren’s eyes, though. Ren’s thoughts went to the worst place. The nightmares had been coming around something fierce for himself, so he wondered if Goro was having the same.

“Nightmares again?”

Goro shook his head. “Oh! No! Sorry, haven’t been having those lately.” He laughed. “I could see how it seems that way. I must admit, I am feeling a bit off.”

“Did something happen?”

“Not yet. I’ve just been thinking a lot.” Sojiro disappeared around the corner to check on the curry. “What’s sex like?”

Ren gave a choking noise, poised himself, then led Goro to the attic. He never thought he’d be giving anyone the birds and the bees talk. 

===

“Fucking Iwai.” A portly man with greasy, slicked back hair shouted at one of his subordinates. “I can’t believe that fucker was selling in Shibuya.”

“Sir, he’s closed up shop…”

“I don’t care! He fucked on me! Nobody fucks on me!”

“Sir…”

“I’ll kill him. He’s going to pay.” The man folded his hands together as if formulating a plan.

“Sir, we can’t order a mental shutdown.”

“Bud, we’re the fucking mob. We can do this the old fashioned way. Get Iwai a message. He owes me any money he’s made while encroaching on my territory.”

The crony listening to the man’s tantrum bowed, and went off to find a way to get a message to the now well-hidden shop owner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The street price for an ounce in Japan is outrageous. If the internet is to be trusted, apparently it can run up to $1,000 an ounce, if you're charging in American money. I can go to dispensary and buy an ounce for a tenth of that. Not that I would. I don't even know why I'm writing a story that has to do with that. I'm losing my mind.
> 
> I've written a lot in the last few days, so I don't have good notes to end this chapter on. The next few chapters have a much narrower focus, which I think should be considered an improvement.


	40. Million Yen Knee Lift

_ Monday, June 12th, Early Morning _

Ryuji had texted Haru early that morning letting her know he’d be running late and wouldn’t be able to help with the morning gardening work. That was fine, she thought. Monday mornings in the garden didn’t require much more than watering. The plants were fed on Tuesdays. Those were the days when she’d need help with the heavier lifting. Ryuji was very good at heavy lifting, among other things.

Watering the gardens alone gave her time to reflect on her weekend. It was a fairly miserable time full of awful come-ons from her arranged-marriage fiance. He was extremely persistent. What ate at her most, though, was the fact that she’d had to reject Ryuji specifically because of her fiance. She would have much rather spent the weekend with him, or, perhaps a better way to put it, she very much wanted to spend the weekend with Ryuji, more than anything. To compare how much she wanted to be around Ryuji to how much she wanted to be around Sugimura was a hilariously stark comparison that she herself would have laughed at if it wasn’t her own specific situation. 

She’d spent the weekend longing for the safety of Shujin Academy. Now that the Phantom Thieves had chased away Kamoshida and Kobayakawa, ‘may he rest in peace,’ she thought, the school was as safe as it pretended to be before. Ushimaru was a bit too stern and extremely strict, but he was at least competent and at most thorough. He’d stamped out an unwanted visit from Sugimura for Haru on Saturday and gave no mind to the name dropping and threats her asshole fiance pulled out. Shujin was a different place these days, Haru thought. 

She’d been on her way to the rooftop when she passed the newspaper office; the door was open and she could see Miyahara-chan, the second year that was the only member of the newspaper club until recently, leaning over Ren-kun’s shoulder, critiquing something he was writing quite rudely. Haru imagined Ren would be hard of hearing when that grouchy girl was done. She stood next to the door and knocked, not that she needed to. Maybe she could show Miyahara some manners and help Ren out at the same time. 

Haru entered the room and greeted after her knocking went ignored. Keiko jumped a foot when she noticed Haru standing there.

“Miyahara-chan, how are you this morning?”

“Uh!” She wasn’t sure how to react and Haru couldn’t help but wonder what they were working on that had her acting so shifty. “Okumura-senpai, good morning!”

“Just Haru, please.” Ren knew that tone all too well, although Keiko hadn’t picked up on it.

“What can I help you with?” Ren didn’t dare move from his seat, sensing some impatience in Keiko’s voice. Haru wouldn’t put up with that.

“I was wondering if we could put something in the paper about the gardening club!” Haru’s voice was cheery and completely unnerving to Ren, although he was unsure if there was a reason for it. 

“Oh. Uh. Well, we were just talking about a story for this next issue, so Ren, you could pick that up.” Ren was a bit relieved. 

“That’s fine with me. You have time at lunch?”

“I can meet you on the rooftop.” Haru was perfectly polite, but Ren was still scared. Keiko gave Ren a look after Haru left.

“What the fuck did Okumura do to you?” Keiko had noticed Ren’s anxious behavior. 

“Uh, nothing, why?”

“You’re sweating bullets and you’re shaking like a leaf.”

“She’s just scary, Keiko.”

===

“Aw, do I really have to take the train home?” Souji wasn’t normally a complainer but forcing him to take the train home from school would always be a surefire way to get him to act his age for once. He didn’t like the subway. Yu and Chie didn’t really understand why, but Rise had when he explained it. She just hadn’t been home that morning.

He always had this sinking suspicion that he’d get put back into that weird world where he was never more than a brainwashed passenger on the train to the depths of Mementos. He’d been the victim of many nightmares involving the sea of wayward human souls. It was rare for him to speak of it; he hadn’t told anyone.

Last night’s dream was especially horrifying. He found himself facing a giant door covered by giant iron bars and accented with a big scary red light that was an effective deterrent. “Let’s keep moving,” a girl in a navy leotard and mask said. He only had a vague familiarity with her, but he was sure he knew the voice. He just couldn’t place it. 

“We’ve got somewhere to be after school and Chie can’t pick you up,” Yu replied. He was normally patient with Souji and now wasn’t any different.

“Did her car break down?”

Chie reached over and flicked his ear. “Ungrateful!” She didn’t sound irritated. “We have a job to do.”

===

_ Lunchtime _

Akio had overheard his boss utter a name he knew while standing guard at his hideout yesterday. Apparently his men had been in the process of collecting from a business owner who got too big for his britches and started shilling product in Kaneshiro territory. Some nosey punks barged in and took out a few good men, and chased off the others. Now the business owner is in hiding and they can’t find the product. 

One of the “punks,” however, got recognized. “Narukami,” Kaneshiro had said. “I’m sure it’s him. He was asking around Shinjuku for me.” That’s what Akio remembered hearing. Akio knew a Narukami. Maybe the boss hadn’t asked him to look into it, but taking care of this himself could score some points. ‘Maybe I could move up in the ranks a bit faster.’

The Narukami he knew fit the punk description well these days. He’d always been quiet and straight-laced before, somebody that would have stayed off him and his crew’s radar. Now he was hanging out with the school rejects, all those losers that followed that Amamiya asshole like lost puppies. To Akio, it seemed like the delinquent was starting a mafia of his own full of some of the least likely people possible. Sakamoto, for one, was always more likely to break up a fight than start one. Niijima was as prissy as they come. The Yoshizawas were quiet and well behaved. The homeless kid seemed like some kind of genius pacifist: The most notable thing he’d done at the school thus far was look horrified as Niijima beat the tar out of someone trespassing on school grounds. 

He had some second thoughts about confronting a group with Makoto Niijima in it now that he reflected but they had a job to do. 

Akio expected to be greeted with angry stares like he was walking into a biker bar, but he was instead greeted by an aloof Sakamoto.

“Hey, Yuma-senpai, what’s up?” 

Such a simple greeting threw him off his game. He imagined if any one of them had been involved in any of Kaneshiro’s business, they’d be shitting bricks. In conclusion, they were either innocent or stupid. 

“Got some business to take care of,” said Akio as he started his way towards Narukami. The younger boy was actually taller than Akio by a whole head but he was thin. Amamiya, the transfer, got up and moved towards the kid.

“What kind of business?” Ren’s tone was closer to what Akio expected when he interfered on their rooftop lunchtime.

“Sounds like Narukami here’s gotten involved with the wrong kind of people.” Akio hated it when he tried to sound hard only for his voice to crack. Of course, that’s what happened now. 

“He has or you have?” Amamiya was standing firm between the two. 

“I don’t know what he’s getting at.” Souji said. “I go straight to Club from school.”

“Liar. I heard from my boss that some Narukami guy is giving him trouble.” Akio stood firm.

“So you jumped to it being Souji? Fuck off, dickhead.” Akio didn’t like Ren’s tone, and neither did his backup, who were casually moving away from the scene.

They were interrupted by a cheerful voice and fluffy auburn hair bursting through the roof’s doors.

“Ren! I’m ready for my closeup!” Haru joked, unaware of the situation she walked in on. “Oh, Akio-kun, what are you doing up here?”

Akio was suddenly overtaken by a cold sweat and his eyes filled with fear. “Uh-” he couldn’t come up with words. “Okumura-san, I was just saying hello. I should be going.”

Akio and the rest of the crew scrambled away.

“What did you do to him?” Ren asked with some trepidation. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

Haru sat next to Ryuji, set her pale on her lap, opened it and pulled out a sandwich like nothing happened. “Nothing he didn’t deserve.”

Despite Haru making a mafia errand boy her bitch being the much, much more interesting story, Ren sat down across and started asking her questions about the gardening club. It would probably be best to avoid talking about the terrifying look in Akio’s eyes anyway if Haru wanted more members.

Kat was sitting in the corner, silently cowering behind Kana.

===

_ After School _

Hiraguchi always gave the girls the week after a big competition off. The weeks heading into a competition were often a special kind of hell until the final week, where they’d take it easy relative to what they were doing before. This time off allowed Kasumi to finally see her boyfriend play soccer for the first time. 

It was really nice, at first, watching Souji run around like he was. He was a step faster than everyone else on the field, obviously the best player on the team. She was curious, at first, how a kid with no past history, or one fabricated by Kirijo Group, was able to start at a school and a sport all willy-nilly but after seeing him play it made sense. Nobody would look that gift horse in the mouth.

Kasumi was torn between being proud that her boyfriend was the best player on the team, attracted to her boyfriend  _ because _ he was the best on the team and angry that there was something he was better than her at. She really didn’t have the time to learn how to play soccer, so she supposed she’d just have to let him have that one.

The practice was nearly over when she noticed a stocky, angry-looking Akio standing near the exit to the park where the practices were held. He must’ve been waiting for Souji in a place where he knew he wouldn’t have the protection of big, bad, scary Haru Okumura, Kasumi thought. That was very strange, to her. Haru had always polite and kind, if not a bit quiet. Kasumi could admit, though, that occasionally her saccharine sweet voice was a bit unnerving.

She approached Akio against her own better judgment. He jumped when she addressed him.

“Still on this? You’ve got the wrong guy.” 

“I know what I heard.” He spoke, gritting his teeth. 

“I’m concerned that you don’t. Souji was with me nearly the entire weekend. Whatever you think he did to your boss, he didn’t do. He’s not the type to stick his nose into other people’s business.” That was part of his charm, Kasumi thought. She was enough of a busy body. She didn’t need a boyfriend that would push her into even more bullshit that she didn’t need, like Ren was doing for Sumire constantly.

“I’m just going to talk to him.”

“Yeah, and I’m sleeping beauty,” she said. “Get out of here before I call Okumura-senpai.” 

He paled a bit at the mention of her name. In an effort to save face, he tried to plow past Kasumi like a real he-man but she sidestepped him, sticking out a foot and causing him to fall flat on his face. 

Akio didn’t plan on getting back up until Kasumi was gone. This mission was a colossal failure.

“Maybe Okumura-senpai isn’t the only woman you should be afraid of.” Kasumi successfully imitated Haru’s terrifying, overly sweet voice. Akio winced.

Kasumi walked away, greeting a thoroughly confused Souji with a kiss on the cheek. They walked away, her hand in his back pocket. She glared back, and Akio winced again.

===

Unfortunately for Yu, no amount of discretion and secrecy would save him from Kaneshiro finding out his identity. Upon their entry into the palace, they discovered that Yu was now considered a ‘client’ of Kaneshiro’s. Specifically, he was a client indebted in the amount of whatever Kaneshiro thought Iwai owed him. The number was particularly outrageous and even though Yu could cover it if he really wanted to, he assumed Kaneshiro wasn’t the reasonable type that would just let it go if he paid up immediately. Besides, the danger of fighting in the Metaverse again had Yu feeling more alive than he had in years. 

The guards attempted to escort the Investigation Team to an office where Kaneshiro was supposedly waiting to meet them but they opted to fight through the shadows anyway. They were getting swarmed. They probably could have used the extra help from Akihiko, who had to return home to his wife and kids or Yukiko, who couldn’t be away from the Inn for this long. Yosuke was able to stay though; he’d stopped answering phone calls from Junes trying to get him to come back. 

The group found themselves surrounded yet again by a series of Sui-Ki and Oni that they just couldn’t fight back against. Yu was really regretting telling Ren he wanted to solve this on his own. They were lucky these guys were weak, but they couldn’t keep throwing physical attacks out like they were. The team would eventually tire out or run out of magic. Either option would spell disaster.

Yu decided to take one for the team and summoned Sraosha to use Megidolaon, which dissolved their enemies instantly at the cost of a ridiculous amount of magic. 

“We aren’t going to make it much further than meeting Kaneshiro today. I don’t think we should try and fight him.” Naoto had been analyzing the situation as they walked through the gaudy green-and-beige accented bank. She never expected to be taking part in a bank heist, although she also never thought she’d have been able to enter the television. This wasn’t really all that different. 

They made it through to the door the guards were initially trying to escort them to, leading to a wood accented meeting room with several comfortable looking couches and a coffee table with stacks of money. 

“Don’t get too excited,” Kanji said first. He picked up a stack. “This is play money. It’s got Kaneshiro’s face on it.” 

A television at the front of the room had a video of Kaneshiro on it.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t find out about you snooping around, Yu Narukami?” The way he spoke Yu’s voice was to make it sound like it was a revelation. “I don’t take kindly to people getting involved in my business. The man you saved, Iwai, right? Do you know  _ why _ we were putting the clamps on him?”

“Probably for sellin’ weed in your territory,” Kanji spoke plain as day, earning glares from most notably, Naoto. “What? I buy from him sometimes.”

“Looks like one of you actually has a brain,” Kaneshiro said. “But I’m a nice guy. I don’t want you to misunderstand me, I’m not after any of your lives. What I’m after is money, and Iwai’s debt is now your debt.” He made a show of looking like he was doing everyone a favor. “How does, three million yen sound? Yeah, I think that sounds about right.”

Yosuke looked like he was about to speak up about how that isn’t really that much money but they shut him down quick.

“You’ve got three weeks.”

Shadows ambushed the room but the Investigation Team was able to make their escape with the help of Kanji, who yeeted an ATM through the barricaded shut front door.

When they returned home, Yu had a text message from an unknown number.

\-- _ You’ll have my money in three weeks- J.K. _

===

_ Evening _

Jiro knew his father had a press conference scheduled tonight where he would say… something. The fact of the matter was that Jiro couldn’t get his father to tell him anything about what he had done.

“I owe it to the world. My duty, right now, is to air my crimes.” Jiro didn’t know about any crimes, but if he had to guess, it would be plagiarism. Maybe his father was finally capable of feeling guilty. He  _ had _ been allowing Jiro to eat three meals per day for the first time in his life, so maybe there really was guilt in there somewhere.

That would be a miracle.

===

The press conference broke through on multiple stations and soon there wasn’t a person alive in Japan that wouldn’t know of Madarame’s misdeeds.

The sobbing grey-haired man graced the television at the far end of the bar at LeBlanc, where a few of the Phantom Thieves had gathered. Ren was behind the bar making more coffee while Sumire had looked up from her food to see the man’s confession. Ryuji, Goro and Makoto were sharing a booth in an attempt to get Ryuji to study. Minato had arrived with his sister a bit ago but they were busy bickering in a booth of their own; Minako wanted to read his text messages and was attempting to wrestle his phone away from him, while Minato loudly complained that she was going to make it explode.

He still wasn’t convinced that cell phones didn’t spontaneously combust.

Ann and Shiho had opted to hang out alone at Ann’s place for reasons nobody was going to ask about because nobody wanted to know the specifics, and Shiho often provided specifics when she knew nobody wanted them.

Kana had been sure to make plans with Kat and Rio because for some reason that she herself couldn’t even explain, she’d been avoiding Minato. 

Yuuki and Yusuke had other plans: both were bullish that Operation Maidwatch wouldn’t be a dud. ‘Poor Kawakami,’ Ren thought.

They’d all been tipped off of the press conference by Yu, who had been tipped off by Ohya.

“I… I have committed crimes that are unbecoming of an artist.” Ren had heard this speech a million times. “Plainly put… I, um… plagiarized work… I tainted this country’s art world.” The man’s sobbed caused the microphones to make strange noises. “Even Sayuri is not my own work. How could I possibly apologize to-- everyone for what I’ve done?”

The sobs made his words unintelligible, but Ren swore he heard him utter the names “Maname Kitagawa” and “Phantom Thieves.”

Ren addressed the rest of the Thieves. “The book on that one is finally closed. Why do I feel like that took us forever?”

“It only took us a week,” Sumire said. 

“It’s been a long week, then.” 

Madarame turned himself in immediately after. On his person was the calling card Rio delivered just days ago.

===

Sae hadn’t been called in for extra work in over a month and while she was enjoying the free time, she was ecstatic to finally have a case.

That thrill was taken away immediately when she was told she had to investigate the Phantom Thieves. Madarame’s confession featured them heavily and the police weren’t happy that their thunder was stolen yet again. This was going to be a mess and a half.

She left the office at 1:30 a.m. and called Naoto the second she reached her car.

An adorably sleepy-sounding Naoto answered the phone.

“Hullo-uh, Shirogane speaking.”

“Sorry for waking you. It’s urgent.” Sae could hear Naoto shift around.

“Alright, I’m ready.”

“I’ve been placed on the Phantom Thieves cases.”

“You? What?” Naoto couldn’t hide the surprise in her voice. 

“They aren’t taking Madarame’s confession.” Sae wasn’t going to hide her own frustrations. “They think it was coerced and are instead going after the Phantom Thieves for blackmail.”

Naoto didn’t respond at first. 

Sae didn’t fill the silence.

“What are you going to do?” Naoto’s voice sounded less sleepy.

“Push up my timeline on quitting my job? My parents are alive. Mom’s gotten a job already and we have quite a bit saved up.”

“Let’s talk in person before you make a decision. Meet at LeBlanc tomorrow afternoon.”

Naoto fired off a text to the Investigation Team’s group chat.

**Naoto:** LEBLANC AT 15:30 TOMORROW

Nobody could reply before she fell back asleep.

===

_ Tuesday, June 13th, After School _

Sugimura knew better than to show his face at Shujin early in the morning; the first time he did, he got his ass kicked and went viral for it. The second time, he got chased off by an angry old man. After school, though, he could make sure to get in the door without any of the staff seeing him. He dressed a little less flashy today, just in case. He wore a black suit instead of a white one.

Once he got into the building, he didn’t know what to do. He didn’t think he’d make it that far, if he was being honest with himself. He might not make it much further, he thought, because an angry looking kid was marching his way. He was a little on the short side with black hair and he looked like trouble, the kind that Sugimura usually avoided.

“Who the fuck’re you?” Akio said to the stranger.

“I’m looking for Haru Okumura. Have you seen her?” 

The kid gave a fearful expression and started leading him towards the roof. “Oh. Yeah. She’s upstairs.”

“You scared of her?”

“What? Me? No.” The kid was sweating. “No way.”

“Whatever you say.” Sugimura didn’t have time to parse what the kid meant, although realistically he doesn’t have the mental capacity to figure it out anyway. He opened the door to the roof to find Haru talking with a big blond oaf that he doesn’t recognize.

“Now, we don’t want to overwater the plants because we might kill-” Haru paused when she heard the door open. Her fiance approached.

“Sugimura.” It was about as polite of a greeting as he expected.

“Haru, I was wondering where you’ve been. You need to come home with me today.”

“For what?” Haru spat the words. She’d been getting quite uppity lately, ever since her friend embarrassed Sugimura in front of the school.

Sugimura stepped closer to her but didn’t notice the blond kid getting ready to intervene. He grabbed Haru’s wrist. “Because you belong to me, and you need to do as I say.” 

He fell back as the blond pushed him away. Haru stumbled forward but kept her balance and didn’t leave her feet. Sugimura’s butt hit the ground.

“Eff off, dude. What year you think it is?”

“Like you would understand the intricacies of high society.” 

“Like you would, dude. I can smell the booze on your breath from here.”

Sugimura scrambled to his feet and charged the kid. He had hit a nerve with the ‘booze’ comment. He lowered his head in anticipation of taking down the kid but suddenly everything went black. Haru had stepped between Ryuji and Sugimura briefly, and lifted a knee into the side of his head. No technique needed, as reckless and Sugimura was being. She reached down and searched his pockets, successfully finding his phone. She practically skipped over to the side of the building, dropping it over the side onto the courtyard’s sidewalk. Then she searched her own pockets for her keys: She’d been given a key to the rooftop so she could tend the garden on days off. 

“Come on, Ryuji-kun! Let’s go get some coffee.” It was jarring for Ryuji to see her act so normal about stranding her fiance on their school’s rooftop.

“Are you just gonna leave him there?”

“Huh? Who are you talking about?” She replied innocently. She locked the door, setting the deadbolt. The two made their way towards LeBlanc.

===

“Yu, we really appreciate your business but you can’t just bring the entire Investigation Team here without calling me first.” Ren was now stuck working behind the counter while he was supposed to be working on homework  _ and _ finishing his article about the gardening club.

“It’s necessary! I swear!” Yu would have much rather been working on Kaneshiro’s palace, which would have to wait until later. 

Naoto and Sae Niijima came through the door a few minutes later.

“We really have a full house today,” Sojiro said, eyeing Ren. “Do I need to close?”

“Maybe temporarily. Is that too much to ask?”

“Not at all, they all paid already.” Sojiro chuckled. “I’ve had more business in the last 20 minutes than I’ve had all day. I’ll be back in an hour.”

Sojiro left, turning the sign over.

“I’ve been put on the-” the door opened again and Ryuji and Haru marched in. “Phantom Thieves case…”

“Oh! Are we talking about the Phantom Thieves? They’re so cool!” Haru interrupted. She hadn’t had much of a chance to gush: Sugimura thought they were criminals, her father barely gave her the time of day and Ryuji always changed the subject immediately.

“Uh-”

“Oh, Haru, I think they’re closed…”

“But you two are best friends, I’m sure he’ll make an exception…” She said as Ryuji dragged her out of the cafe. 

“Thank god for Ryuji.” Ren said out loud. “Actually, this is the first timeline where he’s actively worked towards keeping us a secret. I should buy him a watch.”

“No offense, but I really should be at work and I’m putting myself and you at risk even being here.” Sae didn’t have much patience. She was sounding like the old Sae Ren remembered.

“Understandable. Please continue.”

“The police feel like you showed them up.”

“That’s because we did show up those lazy bastards,” Ren said, interrupting Sae. 

“Anyway, they’re going to find a way to retaliate. There’s already word going around the station that Madarame started talking about Shido. And another name that’s going around is Kaneshiro. I don’t know what the connection is yet, but there is one.”

“We’re already on that one,” Naoto said. 

“Be careful.” Sae spoke in a tone normally saved for Makoto. “He’s the man who went after my father.”

“What?!” Ren and Naoto spoke in unison.

“Holy shit,” Yu said. “Somebody knew something Ren didn’t.”

“Yu, this is  _ not _ the time…” Rise said, although she looked as puzzled as everyone else.

===

Kaoru and Miki walked in the front door of their new home to find his dad sitting in the living room with a purple-haired girl he’d seen around the shop a few times but never spoke to. There was a big storage bag of weed on the coffee table. ‘So, she’s  _ that _ kind of friend.’ Kaoru knew a little bit about his dad’s ‘side’ business. He knew it was illegal and he knew it could get him in a lot of trouble, but he also knew it was something his dad had been using for years and it never once caused him any issues. 

His father might be a bit rough around the edges but he was never abusive and always seemed to have Kaoru’s interests at heart. He couldn’t judge his dad for his one uncouth coping mechanism. They greeted the two and went right to Kaoru’s new bedroom, ignoring the girl that was barely older than them.

“Who was that girl?” Miki asked the second Kaoru closed his door.

“I don’t know. She used to come around the shop sometimes. I think they smoke together or something.”

“I love how the virginal, class nerd Kaoru’s dad openly smokes pot and you just don’t care at all.” Miki would poke fun at Kaoru constantly for how many of his dad’s exploits he overlooked.

“What does virginal mean?”

“Ask your father.” Then Miki laughed. “I’m not about to give my best friend the bird and the bees.”

Somewhere, Ren coughed.

They started working on their homework for that day but as always, Miki got bored. Kaoru had finished his assignment early, so he’d been trying to help her on hers.

“We should go spy on them.” 

“On who?”

“On your dad and that girl! I bet it’s fascinating.”

Kaoru didn’t like this one bit but Miki wasn’t going to let this go.

“We can open my door and see if we can hear them.” Maybe that will sate her thirst for gossip.

It might’ve worked except the second the door opened, his father called them out for trying to spy.

“I know you’re eavesdropping!” He shouted from the living room. They could hear the girl laugh. “You already missed the fun part. You can come out if you want.”

If it were up to Kaoru, they wouldn’t have left his room, but Miki was too nosey to let Kaoru just sit there doing nothing. 

She plopped down on the couch right next to the girl Kaoru only kind of recognized and started talking without even a greeting.

“Why is your hair purple?”

“I dunno, dude, why isn’t yours?”

Kaoru tuned out the conversation. He could feel his brain cells committing suicide.

===

“This palace is just a little more complicated than the TV world,” Kanji deadpanned. They weren’t used to getting ambushed by shadows so often, and the tripwire alarms and security cameras were completely new to them. Chie thought since she’s an ex-cop, she’d be an expert in dealing with them. 

She was definitely not an expert in dealing with them and now the palace’s security level was getting to a point where the whole place was pulsing. The atmosphere turned dense and oppressive, like they were about to fight the Reaper but Rise confirmed that the Reaper wasn’t anywhere around. Apparently, the Reaper didn’t spawn in palaces. 

“At least something about this place is easier,” Rise told the group. In her opinion, this palace wasn’t much more difficult than what they were used to. The Investigation Team just got trigger happy, too over-excited for their return to action to focus on any sort of stealth. 

They finally, after a painstaking, hours-long process, made it to a giant room that looked like a massive tumbler like would be seen on the inside of a safe lock. 

“Let’s head back for the day,” Yu said. They weren’t in dire straits, health-wise but Yu could tell his team was getting tired and frustrated, the things one should specifically not be if they’re trying to solve a puzzle.

===

_ Wednesday, June 14, Early Morning _

Sugimura had been stuck on the rooftop without his cell phone for hours, silently thanking whatever supernatural force he believed in today for allowing the weather to be nice. 

Haru and Makoto made their way upstairs with Miss Kawakami. Haru had filled her in on the situation: Sugimura had repeatedly been told to stay away from the school and he refused to listen. He attempted to attack a student for a second time.

“Should I have locked him on the rooftop?” Haru mused. “Probably not. Would I do it again? Yes.”

Makoto found Haru completely unnerving. Kawakami was too exhausted to care.

Sugimura was asleep when they made it to the roof. Haru decided to show him some kindness, because he didn’t make the mistake of destroying her garden. ‘He’s learning! It’s almost cute!’

They nudged him awake and he was escorted drowsily (and adjective that fits both him and Kawakami, currently) to a cab at the school gate.

“Are you going to need somewhere to stay?” Makoto asked against her better judgment.

“I’d like to think he’s too embarrassed to retaliate,” Haru said. “But he also completely lacks shame. I could use a place to stay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was initially really long because I got way too into talking about gardening. I then realized the word count is a bit much and it was starting to read like a research paper, so I dumped the gardening talk. 
> 
> Akio exists in the same realm as the "characters of the day" on Pokemon. He only exists to eat shit. Sorry. 
> 
> I also have a side project I've been writing. They're shorter stories featuring some of the OC's in a normal timeline. The first one I posted is Keiko, which will be an approximately 4 chapter fic about how their student newspaper handled the Kamoshida incident and future Phantom Thieves exploits. I really had fun writing it. The fun thing about these stories is they can largely stand on their own. I might be a bit more excited to write those than the main story, just because I created such stupidly elaborate backstories that i had to use them somewhere.   
> Here it is:  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/26708923


	41. Like Flies on Pig Shit

_ Wednesday, June 14, Afternoon _

‘Thank god for Naoto,’ Yu thought to himself, before saying something of praise to her out loud. It was easy for him to forget just how talented the Detective Prince was but she made short work of a puzzle he expected to take them all day. They had secured a route to the treasure and had largely avoided fighting that day.

Yu thought it was all just a bit anticlimactic. He told Ren as such after they left, when he decided a trip to LeBlanc was in order.

“Anything we need to know about the fight?” Yu took a sip of his coffee, which was delicious as usual. LeBlanc was probably going to ruin other coffees for him by the time all this was over.

“Have you ever played Mother 3?” Ren said in a thoughtful tone.

“Not much of a gamer.”

“Don’t let Futaba hear you say that.” Ren chuckled. “The guy fights from a giant pig shaped mech suit that he’ll try to run you over with.”

“I… that seems apt, I suppose. He kind of looks like a pig.”

“I wish he looked like a pig. Dude is fucking gross.” Ren sighed.

“How gross?”

“You’ll see. Hopefully nobody in your party is afraid of bugs. Got a plan for a calling card?”

“Actually, I was going to talk to you about that. Think Futaba could send him one? Just like, through text on a blocked number?” They weren’t the Phantom Thieves, Yu thought. They decided it would be best to keep the change of heart under the radar and let the police think they did something. They already knew from Sae and Naoto that the police didn’t appreciate having their job done for them. 

“Trying to keep it on the DL?”

“That’s the plan. None of us can afford to be made pariahs. We’ll leave that to you guys.”

Yu expected a laugh but got a thousand-yard-stare instead. “My bad.”

“Oh. You’re good. I’m just not looking forward to dealing with that again.” Ren frowned.

“You think it’s gonna happen that way again?”

“It definitely will. I just don’t know how, yet.”

===

Makoto felt bad bringing Haru over without asking the night before but her parents didn’t think anything of it.

“We’re practically guests in our own home, Mako,” her mother had told her. “I can’t disappear for years and then get mad at you for acting like you own the place.”

“Disappear?”

Makoto forgot Haru wasn’t in the loop. It was easy to forget because she fit in quite well with the Phantom Thieves. “My parents were mental shutdown victims. We aren’t really sure why they’re back.”

“That’s terrible!” Haru had heard of the cases but she’d never been close with anyone who had been personally affected by them that she knew of. 

Makoto shared the rest of the story of how her father disappeared after getting in over his head with a yakuza boss that was well known for his vicious nature.

Haru didn’t say anything, but it reminded her of her own father. The yakuza boss, not Makoto’s father. 

Makoto and Haru had returned from school with no inconvenience other than Haru’s phone, which she had to shut off because of the incessant ringing. The calls were either from Sugimura, who was trying to invoke his rights to Haru as a property owner and her father, who wanted to know why Sugimura was so upset. Haru felt she didn’t owe an explanation to either of them, so she turned off her phone.

They were now studying, which both girls found helpful. Both had been neglecting to prepare for entrance exams, Makoto because she was too busy with Phantom Thieves things and Haru because she was busy being treated like someone who would never be allowed to go to college. Her father was adamant that her dream of opening her own, non-Okumura Foods owned business was a pipe dream that he couldn’t allow. She was meant to raise his grandchildren and provide a future heir, a disgusting endeavor. 

They’d taken a break from studying.

“I don’t hate kids,” Haru said. “I love kids. I’m just disgusted that I would be charged with raising children who are exposed to degenerates like Sugimura or my father.”

Haru wasn’t necessarily going into detail on her father but Makoto knew he had been requested on the Phan Site by multiple people, mostly current employees who were tired of being overworked. 

“Ryuji-kun and I went to LeBlanc the other day and I’m pretty sure your sister was there,” Haru said. Makoto wasn’t aware that Haru knew Sae.

“You know my sister?”

“Oh, no, not really. You two look too much alike to not be siblings. Plus you have the same vocal patterns.”

‘That’s… extremely unnerving.’ Makoto thought. “Ah. Yeah. That makes sense.”

Haru must’ve picked up on Makoto being uncomfortable because she immediately apologized. “I’m sorry, Mako-chan. I forget that kind of thing isn’t normal.”

“That’s okay. Everyone thinks I’m a robot.” It was kind of freeing, Makoto thought, to be able to say that out loud and not feel like it made her lesser. “We can be socially inept dorks together.”

“We can form or own SIU.” Haru laughed. “The Socially Inept Unit.”

“I’ll tell Sae we’re coming after her job.” 

===

“I don’t even have a starting point on this case, sir.” Sae had been arguing back and forth with SIU Director Tomo Kaida all day. He refused to listen. This case was asinine from the start, Sae knew. They were doing everything in their power to let Madarame off the hook and they were refusing to let him implicate Masayoshi Shido, Junya Kaneshiro and many other people he implicated in his testimony. The once-brilliant artist was now considered just a “crazy old man” who was just spouting names he’d heard once. And then there was the man in the gold mask that he claimed was responsible for the mental shutdown incidents. Had Sae not had previous knowledge of that, she’d have considered that bullshit, too. She wished she was in a spot where she could just show the SIU that other world. She really wanted to see it herself, but she believed Ren when he told her how dangerous it was. The fact that she still had a palace in there somewhere always stood at the back of her mind. She wished she could do something about it.

“I don’t care if you don’t have a starting point, you can start by questioning Suguru Kamoshida. He was their first victim.”

“Victim?”

“Yes. Victim.”

“Excuse me, sir, but the man is a serial rapist.”

“Are you going against my orders?” Sae knew not to press any further.

“I’m not. I’m just curious why a predator is being treated as a victim. He should be held responsible for his own actions.” Sae had learned the day previous that Kamoshida was placed under protective custody, in case the Phantom Thieves came after him a second time. The man was racked with guilt, which he felt more of knowing that the justice system was ignoring his confession. 

“It’s a good thing you're not the judge, then.” Kaida said. 

Sae stood up and marched out of the room, slamming the door. “At least let a judge hear this case, fuckhead,” she muttered to herself.

She clocked out of work early. She had sick time saved up and she suddenly had a ‘debilitating migraine.’ She mostly left so she wouldn’t run the risk of murdering her boss. It was starting to feel like a viable option.

===

“I’m not your attack dog anymore,” Maruki said over the phone. “Your problems are your problems. I have issues of my own.” He was feeling some guilt over his treatment of the Phantom Thieves. They were good kids, he thought, just misguided. He also felt there was potential that he, himself, was misguided, but fate pulled the strings allowing him to use the power of Azathoth. If he wasn’t right, fate wouldn’t have granted him that power. 

“I could have you arrested and tried right now.” The man on the other line, Tomo Kaido, thought he had an ace in the hole against Maruki.

“Or you could find yourself wandering around an alternate reality for the rest of your days.” Maruki wasn’t used to being so cold, but Kaida was one of the few people on the planet that he truly hated. At least Shido had vision. A supremely messed up vision, but vision nonetheless. Kaida never looked past the third step in his plan, which was a problem for a metaphysical assassin. 

Kaida hung up on Maruki in frustration. He wanted Maruki to perform a shutdown on Sae Niijima.

“That family has suffered enough because of me.”

===

**Alibaba:** Your treasure will be stolen and you will confess all of your crimes, purveyor of greed.

**Kaneshiro:** Who is this?

**Kaneshiro:** I will crush you

**Alibaba:** Unlikely. 

===

**Futaba:** Calling card sent. Good luck

**Yu:** Thanks

===

_ Evening _

Shiho’s parents were starting to get frustrated that she was spending nearly every night with Ann. They hadn’t yet been told that they were dating, so they assumed it was just another sleepover.

“You two have been awfully close lately,” Shiho’s mother had said at one point, and it took every ounce of restraint to not reply “not close enough,” or something equally obnoxious. Her mom probably wouldn’t have minded. She didn’t raise a daughter like Shiho without getting used to some crass comments here and there. Her father’s the same way, which led to Shiho getting ‘the talk’ when she was 8, because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut and she wouldn’t stop asking what he meant.

He always joked that she got the best parts of her mother and the worst parts of her father.

Shiho knew that to be true and Ann was learning that as well. The more comfortable Shiho got around her, the worse the humor became.

“It’s going to be really hard to explain when I’m a famous model why I’m dating the world’s worst stand-up comedian.” They’d been sitting on the couch, each with a bowl of instant ramen sitting in front of them.

“You mean we won’t be married by then? Rude.”

Ann’s face turned bright red. “Have you really thought about that?”

Shiho almost didn’t reply. She was feeling a bit self conscious that she  _ had _ been thinking about that. “Yes.”

“Oh.”

It was silent for a while.

“I wasn’t trying to make things weird,” Ann said. 

“Me neither.”

It wasn’t often that Shiho shut down, Ann knew, but the quiet voice she spoke in let Ann know that a full shutdown was coming. 

“I wasn’t trying to make you feel self-conscious.” Ann had thought about how happy Shiho made her but they really hadn’t been dating all that long. They’d been best friends for years, probably to the point where it could be considered dating. They spent nearly every free moment together like a couple would.

“I didn’t think you were.” Shiho sighed. “We’re a bit young to be thinking about that.”

“But you get really sad when you think there’s a future without me in it.” Ann knew the feeling.

“Extremely sad.” It killed Ann to see Shiho pouting. It was her kryptonite.

“Well, I’m not going anywhere, ever.”

“I’m holding you to that, blondie.”

===

“We haven’t gone through a boss fight in years,” Rise said. “Are we sure we’re ready?”

“I think we’re as ready as we’ll ever be. If those kids can handle it, so can we.”

The palace had been a pain but they still made it through in good time. It took them just a couple of days to run through a ton of low level shadows. Had they not taken the brute force route, they probably could have gotten through even more quickly, but they hadn’t ever had to solve puzzles like that, except in Naoto’s section of the TV World. Even then, that one was pretty straight forward.

“As long as we don’t get surrounded, we’ll be okay.”

Yosuke had quit his job at Junes and was living with Yu and Rise, for now. The apartment had more than enough room; he just took one of the spare bedrooms. It was cool to have his best friend as a housemate but having Yosuke around really put a damper on Yu and Rise’s relationship.

They got zero alone time, and Yosuke couldn’t take a hint for the life of him to the point where Yu was almost positive he was being a clingy pain on purpose. Yu had convinced Souji to escort Yosuke on a mission to a diner for food to buy him and Rise some time. 

“How much longer are we going to have Yosuke here?” Rise didn’t  _ dislike _ Yosuke. Nobody did. He was just a lot to deal with as a roommate. She didn’t tell Yu this, but Yosuke had become a bit incel-ish since he split with his ex. It was difficult for her to be around: She was too used to dealing with the type at cons to handle living with one of them.

“I don’t know.” Yu didn’t want to force Yosuke out. He just wanted space. “I’ll handle it after Kaneshiro.”

“Good.”

===

Kanji had been spending an awful lot of time with Tae lately, but Rio wasn’t sure if they were just smoking together or something more. Every night, Tae’s apartment held the stench she was quickly growing accustomed to. She’d asked Goro if it was a problem but he didn’t care.

“I lived behind dumpsters. There’s not a scent in existence worse than stale puke.” 

It was becoming tougher for Rio to keep up on her studies because of the constant ‘party’ in the other room. There was always loud music and loud talking, because Kanji was never not loud. The conversation was interesting to overhear but not conducive to a learning environment. Rio found herself often hanging out at LeBlanc, but then her mom started hanging out there more often and that was awkward. It felt like something was going on between her mother and Sojiro, too, which Rio wasn’t sure how she felt about. Her mother and father were probably done, so there was nothing she could really do about it on that front, but it was making being around Ren awkward.

She was already awkward enough around Kana and Minato. ‘Why the fuck is everyone around me pairing off? We’re still kids.’ Rio was sure at least portions of these thoughts were stemming from jealousy more than anything. She’d been giving Minato a hard time while attempting to ignore the seething jealousy that stemmed from his newfound closeness with Kana. 

Goro had headphones in while he studied in an attempt to drown out the Bad Religion song shaking the apartment but he must’ve sensed something was off with Rio because he asked her if she wanted to go for a walk.

“Come on,” he said. He was reminded of that first day he met Ren. He’d told himself at the time that he’d make it his life goal to be to others what Ren was to him. If Rio needed help? She’d get it. “You aren’t going to sit here and stew. That’s how your mom ended up with a palace.”

Rio laughed. She supposed it was true. 

It wasn’t quite dark out yet but they couldn’t see the sun. It was low enough that it was hiding behind some of the larger buildings in the neighborhood so the sky was a deep, dark blue. 

“Is there something bothering you?” They’d been walking for a bit before Goro broke the silence.

“Too many things,” Rio confessed. “Living with Tae is a whirlwind.”

“It’s not the best environment, I’ll admit. I’m fairly used to it.” 

“Yeah.”

“Living with Tae isn’t really the problem, though, is it?”

“It’s not. I’m much happier here than I ever was at home.”

“I can tell.” He laughed. “We can all tell. You’ve turned into Mini Tae.”

“I have not!” She stopped walking.

“Do I need to remind you that the first thing you told Minato was to stop ‘eyefucking’ Kana?”

Rio looked down. She regretted speaking that one into existence. “I’d prefer you didn’t.”

Goro laughed at her embarrassment. “And if you’re jealous, you should have said something before she did.”

“I know.” ‘How did he know I was jealous?’ “Is it that obvious?”

“You know how I said you’re Mini Tae? She’s not subtle either. At all.”

“Fuck.”

“You aren’t helping if you’re trying to avoid being her mini me.”

“Fuck you.”

“Still not helping.”

“I’m going to murder you in your sleep.”

“Again, not helping.”

===

_ Thursday, June 15th, Afternoon _

“Wassup yo!? Now come get some!”

“Okay, bro, hold up.” Yosuke watched in horror as the purple skinned man went through a metamorphosis into some kind of housefly creature.

“What the fuck?” Yu had zero words for what just happened. Ren should have given him a warning.

“Time to squash this fly!” Chie shouted and attacked before Kaneshiro could start monologuing again, her Persona’s God Hand doing heavy damage, sending the insect man flying.

“You… I’m going to cash in on you idiots!” He shouted, flying back behind him and into the center of the vault that made up the backdrop. The vault doors opened but the center remained, behind it a giant metal pig. 

“Oh! So this is what Joker meant,” Yu said, recognizing the giant safety capsule-like pig.

“It ain’t a pig, yo!” 

“Stop talking like that!” Rise shouted. It reminded her too much of that show Yukari was on. 

“This is my Palace’s swine-model defensive mechanoid, Piggytron!”

“God! You aren’t even creative!” Rise shouted back. She went back to her analyses. 

“Goin’ against me’s a real bad crime, ya know? It’s time for y'all to go to hell!”

“I’ve been to heaven before. Hell can’t be much worse.” Yu assumed hell looked a lot like Adachi’s Inaba.

“What the fuck are you people.” Kaneshiro said, a question, but without the upward inflection.

The pig went down easily. Kaneshiro had already taken damage from Chie’s pre-emptive strike and Rise had picked up a trick from Futaba that allowed the party to stay charged nearly the whole fight. The special guards that followed were annoying but they again, made short work of them. 

Kaneshiro tried to tell them how stupid and naive they were but Naoto shut him up quickly.

“We know your type already and we don’t have time for a monologue. You need to go back and confess to the police.”

The shadow nodded, without saying anything back.

“Shibuya is going to be a lot safer without you around,” Chie said as they started to walk away. 

“Hopefully weed gets cheaper with him gone.”

“Kanji, that’s inappropriate,” Naoto admonished.

“I don’t know, Naoto, I was thinking the same thing,” Rise said.

===

Akio was standing guard at Kaneshiro’s hideout when the commotion started. The boss broke down in tears over the guilt from his crimes. ‘It’s just like Kamoshida…’ but he hadn’t heard about another Phantom Thieves calling card. The last target he knew about was that artist.

Kaneshiro bolted through the door, his cohorts failing to hold him back.

“Akio! Get him!” But he was already too far gone, and Akio knew he wasn’t quick enough to catch up.

“Kid! What the fuck? Why didn’t you get him?”

“Am I just supposed to attack the boss?” Akio showed visible confusion.

“He’s going to confess!” The second in command was a large, muscular man that Akio knew better than to cross. “Get after him. Whatever he does is your responsibility.”

Akio sprinted off and out the door. “Fuck me, man, fuck.” He didn’t stop Kaneshiro. He instead ran home, banking on the yakuza forgetting about him. They wouldn’t survive long without Kaneshiro’s protection, anyway.

===

“Niijima!” Sae was jolted out of her focus in her office. She’d like to pretend that she was doing something important but she’d mostly spent her day trying to set a new record on minesweeper. She’d gotten her time down to 45 seconds, on expert mode.

“Sir, can I help you?”

“Kaneshiro just turned himself in.” Kaida sounded angry.

“Isn’t that good news, sir?”

“It was those damn Phantom Thieves,” he shouted, although Sae knew that it wasn’t.

“How do you know?” Talking back was a mistake.

“Are you questioning my decisions?” Kaida tried to stare her down but she returned a glare of her own. He wilted slightly.

“Yes. I am.” She kept her voice stern. “I asked for proof, and you refused to provide it. I have reason to believe that you have skin in the game in regards to the Phantom Thieves.” ‘Ironic, coming from me.’

“Are you accusing me of something?”

“I don’t know. Are you feeling guilty?” She stood up and it wasn’t until today he realized how imposing she could be. “It’s interesting how quick you were to shove Kamoshida and Madarame’s confessions under the rug. When Shido died, you immediately went into damage control mode. When you heard my father was alive again, you showed a sort of surprise different from someone surprised to see a resurrection. I don’t have solid evidence, but I have more proof that you’re dirty than you have on anything the Phantom Thieves have done.”

He didn’t, or couldn’t, reply. She wasn’t supposed to be able to put together the pieces that easily. 

She hadn’t, not alone. 

“Go ahead, fire me if you want. I know you’ve been looking for a reason to get rid of me. But my silence ends the second I’m out the door.”

He left without words. Sae packed her things.

===

“Kaida, if you call me again, you’re my next target. Goodbye.”

God, Maruki really wanted away from these people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After taking so long to finish up Madarame, Kaneshiro got like, two chapters. Mostly because his dialogue is stilted and uncomfortable but I've already seen too many fics re-do Kaneshiro's palace and I'm not particularly interested in doing that, myself. 
> 
> Shifting into a summer arc and I'll be completely honest, I have like eight different outlines for between mid-June and October and I have no idea which one I'm using. They're all radically different, and the ones I don't use will be used for separate fics so I don't feel like I wasted my time. Curious about what's going to happen? Me too!
> 
> Shorter chapter because I hit a good stopping point.
> 
> I'm also switching to more structured releases because my ego can't take thinking about this stupid thing every day. Next update will be Monday, then next Friday. I also have the other fic, which I plan on having finished by some time in early November.


	42. 'Dude, lemme be a kid.'

_ Friday, June 16th, Early Morning _

“Niijima, where the hell are you?”

“At home, trying to sleep, like a normal person.”

“You’re skipping work?”

“I don’t start til 9. You’ve got three hours before you’re allowed to yell at me again.” Sae hung up the phone. She’d made the decision that she had enough leverage over Kaida that she could stop taking his shit.

It was a freeing decision.

‘I’m a little too old for a rebellious phase, though.’ She was never allowed the opportunity to act out. Sae was practically Makoto’s mother through the end of high school and college, so while all of her friends were out acting up, she had to be home early every night. There were rare occasions where she got to be a normal college student but she didn’t get enough of them. ‘Who’s to tell me I’m too old?’

There was a knock at her door. “Sis? Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”

Sae sat up out of her bed as Makoto entered the room. “My boss called and said the same thing. I’m not supposed to start until 9.” 

“But you always go in early.” It was sweet, Sae thought, when Makoto acted all concerned. 

“Not anymore.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Absolutely not.” The Phantom Thieves investigation was in a cloud-like holding pattern over her head. “I’m supposed to be investigating my own sister.” Sae hadn’t told Makoto yet, which she’d been feeling guilty over. She had to let Ren know immediately and in the process ignored telling the most important person in her life.

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been assigned the Phantom Thieves case.”

Makoto’s shock was evident but she reacted only in concern, not anger. Sae expected Makoto to lash out in some way because that’s how Sae would handle it but the anger never came.

“That’s... you can’t do that.”

“I know, which is why I’m not. I’ve been sitting at work pretending to do my job.”

“That’s so unlike you.”

“Honestly? It’s amazing how little I’ve been able to get away with doing. I only get in trouble when I talk back to Kaida.”

“You? Talk back?”

“I know, I know.” Sae laughed. “I had to go through my rebellious phase at some point.”

Makoto swore she felt Johanna leap with joy. 

===

“Haru Okumura, please come to the principal’s office.”

Ryuji stopped walking but Haru didn’t miss a step. She kept walking like her name wasn’t called at all.

“Does Ushimaru need your help with something?”   
“Oh, probably not. I’m in trouble for assaulting my fiance and locking him on the school roof.” She spoke this as though she forgot to water a plant or do the dishes. “Ushimaru just wants my side of the story, I’m sure.”

“Are you going to tell him that you did it?”

“Of course. What have I to lie about? Ushimaru knows all about Sugimura.” Haru was confident that she wouldn’t get much more than a slap on the wrists, but she’d accept whatever punishment was handed down. “I  _ am _ guilty, so if he must punish me, so be it. If I use my family name to get out of a crime, that makes me just as bad as Sugimura.”

“You’re scary sometimes, did you know that?” Ryuji didn’t know when he picked up a nail biting habit but it started around the time he and Haru started getting close. 

“It’s eat or be eaten, Ryuji-kun.” He shivered. He was somewhere between needing a cold shower and needing his mother. Haru laughed. “I’m kidding!”

Ryuji tried to provide a polite chuckle back but it came out nervous. 

“I’ll work harder towards not scaring you away,” Haru said, her voice a bit sad. “I’m used to everything being a transaction.”

They’d made it to the principal’s office. “Want to hang out after school?”

“If I survive this meeting, sure.”

“I think I’m more worried about Ushimaru surviving this meeting,” Ryuji said with a laugh. 

“No, he’s safe,” Haru said in a sincere tone, as though she didn’t pick up on it being a joke. Ryuji’s face told her his thoughts. “I’m… being scary again. Aren’t I?” Ryuji nodded. “I’ll work on that.”

“Nah, it keeps me on my toes,” Ryuji said and gave her a smile. “Go easy on the old timer.”

Haru entered the room where a concerned looking Ushimaru sat behind Kobayakawa’s old desk. All evidence of the absurdly round egg-man had mostly been scrubbed from Shujin but there wasn’t a single student at the school that didn’t associate that office with him. He would haunt it until the last of those who saw his reign graduated.

“Miss Okumura, sit down, please.” Haru took her seat. “I arrived at the school yesterday to find a very angry man locked on the school rooftop. He claimed you attacked him, knocked him out and locked him there. I know that’s an outrageous accusation, but I thought it would be best to tell you.”

“Oh. I really did do that, though.”

“What?” Haru took pleasure in Ushimaru’s startled jump.

“He snuck into the school when he’s specifically been told not to, and then he tried to attack Ryuji-kun.” 

Ushimaru examined the satisfied look on her face. “So, you did knock him out?”

“In defense of Ryuji-kun, yes. I did knock him out.”

“He’s been calling me constantly with threats.”

“He won’t sue the school.” Haru was fairly confident of that. “If that’s your concern. The threats are empty. He’s too embarrassed that he got beat up by a girl again. Didn’t you see the video of the last time he showed up here?”

Amusement flashed through Ushimaru’s eyes but he played like he hadn’t. 

“He’s tired of being the butt of a joke. He’s only my fiance because I wasn’t given a choice and I have no intention of making things easy for him,” Haru said. “I apologize if this drags the school through any unwanted attention, but I will not allow him to continue his abuses without fighting back.”

“I-” Ushimaru stammered. “I understand. I will talk to the police at the local kiosk to watch out for him and I’ll warn the staff that he isn’t allowed on campus. What’s most important right now is that the students here feel safe.”

“That’s a very welcome change at this school,” Haru said.

“It should have been that way all along,” Ushimaru agreed. “I take great shame in the fact that it wasn’t.”

===

_ Mid-Afternoon _

“What do you mean it’s too soon to celebrate?” Yosuke was a little miffed that Yu wasn’t participating in what Yosuke and Chie called ‘acceptable day-drinking.’

“I deal with Ohya way too often to justify drinking before the sun goes down,” Yu said. It took approximately thirty seconds into his journalism career for him to discover the severe alcoholism that ran through the profession. He still enjoyed a drink every now and then, but gone were the college days where he’d down a bottle and still make it to class the next day. 

Rise always winced when he brought up Ohya’s name but not because of jealousy or anything of that sort. The woman was just such a wreck and an embarrassment. She was obviously a talented writer but she couldn’t keep it together. The first time her and Rise met, Rise left the bar with puke on her shoes. She was mostly just happy it was only on her shoes. If the vomit landed any higher, Ohya would have been wearing Rise’s. 

“Yeah,” Rise sighed. “Drinking with Ohya was an… illuminating experience. How does she get anything done?”

Yu shook his head in disbelief. “I have no idea. I think she’s a superhero.”

“Is there a drunk superhero?” Yosuke scratched his chin. “That seems like it’d make a good anime.”

“I think there’s a stoner one!” Chie said, a bit too excitedly.

“Anyway, no celebrations.”

“I bet  _ Kanji _ is celebrating…” Yosuke said bitterly.

===

Elsewhere, in another Kirijo-owned house, Kanji was celebrating, in a sense. Kat had returned the smoke Iwai had given her before his escape, but Iwai was in a good mood: Narukami had given him a call the day previous to let him know he could move back into his apartment and reopen his shop once they knew how Kaneshiro’s people would react. Kaneshiro, himself, was in custody. That called for a celebration, he thought.

Kaoru, meanwhile, walked in the front door with Miki to find, again, the weird purple haired girl and a giant man he didn’t recognize passing around something that looked like a cigarette, but probably wasn’t a cigarette.

He tried to lead her to his room but Miki instead took a seat next to Kat. She was wearing a black tanktop and now Miki was curious about a tattoo on her shoulder. It definitely wasn’t professionally done from what Kaoru could tell. The only tattoo he’d ever seen was his father’s gecko, but Kat’s might as well have been a stick figure.

“Oh, this?” Kat had said in reply to Miki’s question. “It’s a stick and poke. Ya fill a needle with ink. I don’t remember what that one is. I have another on my ankle that looks like a fish.”

She ran her fingers over the turtle on her shoulder. “Right, it’s a turtle.” She giggled to herself. “I think that fits. I’m a little slow, too.”

“Aren’t you on the volleyball team?”

“Not that kind of slow, runnin’ around is easy,” Kat laughed. “I think the smoking’s fried my brain.”

“It’s definitely fried your brain, kid,” Kaoru’s father said with a laugh. “I’d kill ya if ya were my kid.”

“So Kaoru and I shouldn’t try and smoke with you guys?” Miki asked sarcastically.

“Nah. Too young. Give it a few years.”

Kaoru wasn’t comfortable with the direction this conversation was going so he tried to stand up and head to his room but one look from Miki and he sat back down.

“Where ya goin’, kid?” His dad asked.

“Sorry, had a charlie horse,” Kaoru lied. He wasn’t a good liar. “Had to stretch it out.”

“How’s school been going?” Kaoru’s dad asked but the question was more directed at whoever was listening than it was him. His dad never had to worry about Kaoru’s grades. He was a far more diligent student than his father ever was and he always made sure to let Kaoru know how proud that made him, even if it came out at odd times.

“It’s been going great,” Miki said. “Kaoru and I are going to finish top of our class.”

“Dope, dude. Keep at it.” Kat said. “Heading that way, myself.”

“Seriously?” Kaoru’s dad gave her a look. “You don’t seem like the type.”

“Studyin’s easy.” She held a new joint to her mouth and lit it. “Livin’ is hard.”

“Fuck.” Kanji spoke for the first time in awhile. He was what Kaoru’s dad would refer to as ‘fucked up.’ “I’m so glad I grew out of that shit. You sound like a stoned fortune cookie.”

“Fuck you, dude, lemme be a kid.”

“As you do drugs in an old man’s living room,” Miki pointed out.

“Valid,” Kat replied. “You guys gotta be hittin’ the end, soon, right? You headin’ to Shujin after?”

Miki looked at Kaoru. She’d wanted to go to Kosei for an art program but she didn’t think she’d have the talent to get in. Kaoru was Shujin all the way until the stories about the old volleyball coach got out. Now, he wasn’t so sure.

“I’m trying to get into Kosei.”

“Ah, you’re an art nerd!” Kat said, using antagonistic words but not meaning them in that way. “No wonder you were asking about my tattoos.”

“Actually, yeah. They’re an interesting aesthetic.” Miki couldn’t see herself getting anything like that.

“Bro, when done right, stick ‘n poke looks great,” Kat leaned back into the sofa. “When done bad, they look trashy as shit. If you want one, lemme know n’ I’ll show ya how.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, but I was thinking about them more for a project,” Miki said. “I’ve always wanted to work with live models and I think tattoos present an interesting challenge.”

“Miki, you’re not about to ask her to pose nude for you…” Kaoru had watched Miki ease her way into this conversation with too many people. It’s part of why he was her only friend: She would regularly chase people off by trying to get them to pose.

“Dude, I’d totally do it, just let me know when.”

Kaoru put his head in his hands. “Why am I surrounded by these people?” He asked, although he had no upward inflection at the end signifying it being a question. He would have felt bad saying ‘I’m surrounded by idiots.’ That would have been mean.

===

_ Evening _

Sojiro had gone home for the night and left Ren in charge of LeBlanc. It was the first time in this loop that Ren had been left alone at the cafe, although he wasn’t really alone. A restless Sumire sat at the bar in front of him, watching his every move while she sipped on her coffee. She had a lot of pent up energy from the lack of gymnastics practice this week and the Phantom Thieves hadn’t exactly been active all week. ‘We really should have made a trip to Mementos or something. We could be getting rusty.’

Sadly, their much needed alone time was interrupted by three patrons. None of them, however, were paying customers. Futaba, Aigis and Morgana had come into the cafe to visit, much to Sumire’s growing frustration. Ren had to promise her that he’d kick them out at closing time, otherwise she was going to do it herself. Morgana found his way to Sumire’s lap, which seemed to calm some of her frustrations. She loved the little guy.

Aigis and Futaba took a booth but weren’t saying much to each other. Aigis seemed content to be stared at by Futaba, who seemed as though she were analyzing everything about the anti-shadow weapon.

“Hmm.”

“What is it, Futaba?” Aigis asked.

“I’m trying to figure out how they gave you emotions.” She took off her glasses and wipes them on her shirt. “It doesn’t make sense…”

“I could explain Plumes of Dusk to you, if you would like.” Aigis knew very little about her own origins but she knew they were involved, somehow. Futaba nodded, and Aigis explained the concept of the plumes and the Papillon Hearts while Futaba got more and more excited.

“So, if we were able to find additional plumes, I could build another one of you?”

“I have a sister, so yes, you could.” Aigis gave Futaba a shifty look. “Obtaining a plume of dusk is not an easy task.”

“I may already have an idea on how to get one. Hey, Aigis.” 

“Yes?”

“You don’t have some kind of monitoring or recording device on you, right?”   
“That would be an invasion of privacy, which I am told is bad.”

“...And can I trust you not to tell Kirijo that I have access to their research? I won’t use it against them, I swear.”

Ren and Sumire glared at Futaba.

“What? I want to build a cyborg.” Futaba pouted. “Sojiro won’t get me the new Star Wars Lego set.”

“It would probably be best if you just asked Kirijo to help on a project,” Ren said. “She’d probably be excited that you’re interested.”

“But that means meeting new people.” Futaba tried to give Ren the puppy dog eyes but she realized she didn’t have the charisma necessary. 

“We’re running it by Kirijo.” Ren said, stone faced.

“Bad end.” Futaba continued her pout.

“Thank you, Ren.” Aigis seemed happy to be out of Futaba’s questioning.

“Aigis, where’s Minato? I thought you never left his side?”

“Kana should be suitable protection.” 

“Hopefully he  _ has _ protection,” Sumire said, giving Ren a look he tried desperately to ignore.

“ **Bonk!** ” Futaba smacked Sumire on the top of the head with a rolled up newspaper. 

===

Within minutes of meeting Kana at Central Street, Minato realized he had zero clue what to actually do for a date. He’d been given a whole week to figure something out and all he’d been able to plan was his outfit and even that wasn’t his choice, because Minako wouldn’t let him leave the house dressed like he “still actively updated his MySpace page.” If Minato knew what that meant, he thought, he would have been more offended. She’d forced him to wear skinny khaki shorts and a black t-shirt, which she claimed made him look like a more “modern emo kid.” It had taken her hours to get him ready. He argued every step of the way.

He was happy with how he looked, but he wouldn’t tell Minako that.

He was even happier when Kana showed up looking completely different from what he expected. She had her (surprisingly curly) hair down, a rarity from what he could tell and she was wearing a colorful yellow-orange-red sundress that she was constantly fiddling with. He couldn’t decide if she was nervous or if she wasn’t used to wearing that kind of clothing. He was surprised how  _ not frumpy _ she looked, although it made sense somebody her size struggled to find fitting clothes. Hell, men her size would struggle finding fitting clothes.

Minato certainly felt out of place in his clothes, so he wasn’t about to blame her for that. 

“You look great,” she interrupted him out of his staring. “It’s almost like you’ve joined the rest of the world.”

He looked up at her; ‘I’ll never get used to that’; and gave a mock frown. “Minako told me I looked like I still had a MySpace page.”

Kana laughed. “It’s all part of the charm, right?” 

“Rawr.”

“Never do that again,” Kana sounded mad but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I’ll leave right now.”

They made their way to a diner, deciding a meal would at least allow them the time to find out what they actually wanted to do. Despite fighting together, albeit only twice, they didn’t know each other all that well. 

“You go first,” Minato said. 

Kana was startled. They had just ordered their food when Minato abruptly asked her to go first. “Go first?”

“Nobody gets a Persona with a tragic backstory. Mine’s a little too hard to believe, so I’ll go last.”

“You serious?” She wanted him to be kidding.

“I wish, dude.” He sighed. “It’s a whole lot of bullshit.”

She’d have chuckled, if he didn’t look completely miserable at the thought.

“I don’t think mine’s all that tragic, outside of the whole ‘disappearing’ thing.” She’d only heard what had happened to Rio but she imagined there was a reason beyond the Metaverse that these kids stuck together like flies on shit. “I moved to Japan with my mom when I was like, 3? Yeah, 3 sounds right. She’d met a guy while studying abroad and had me.”

“He must’ve been a giant.”

“He was. He still writes letters and calls sometimes, but he doesn’t have the money for a visit and neither do we. I think him and mom are on good terms.” She took a sip of the cola sitting in front of her. “He was a professional athlete but not like, the rich kind. He’d get work for 10 days at a time whenever a basketball team lost their big guy, but they never kept him around longer than that. He runs kids camps now and sends some money from that to us. Mom’s a social worker, so it’s always tight. That’s why we live with gram.”

“Your dad seems like a good dude, at least,” Minato said.

“For the most part, yeah. Mom said he’s grown up a lot since he retired.”

“What about your mom?” Minato wasn’t ready to share his story yet.

“She’s amazing. It’s like she has a thousand kids, sometimes. She works a lot. Gram’s super old and doesn’t talk much, so I’m on my own most of the time. It’s easier to just stay busy.” She gave a smile. “But that’s enough about me. You already know I like volleyball and apparently hanging out with stoners. I can already tell your story will be more interesting than mine.”

Minato gave a long sigh in preparation for the information dump he was about to lay out in front of her. “I won’t blame you for running away and thinking I’m nuts.”

“It better be fucking insane, for all you’re building this up to be.” Her eyes met his.

“Well.” His hands fidgeted as their food made it to the table. He waited for the waitress to leave before he started his story. “It all started in 2000. I was 6 years old.”

“Wait, I already don’t believe you. Aren’t you 16?”

“Yes.”

“But you were 6 years old in 2000.”

“Yes.”

“I-” She thought for a minute. “I don’t believe you, but I’ll listen anyway. Starting a first date with a lie is a bold move.”

“It’s not a lie.” He sighed. “Anyway, Kirijo Group caused an accident in Iwatodai, where I lived with my parents. Big explosion. It killed a lot of people. It should have killed me and Minako, too.”

“And it reverted you to infancy?”

“Oh! Man, that would be funny to tell people, but no. That’s not what happened.”

Minato explained every event that happened that fateful year in deep detail, with Kana interrupting every few minutes to express her disbelief. 

“So, the guy that sealed away those shadows was your ex’s dad?” Kana would admit she was enraptured by the story, even if she didn’t believe a word of it.

“Yeah.”

“Bullshit.”

“Have you ever met Yukari? She’ll tell you all about it.” Minato had been careful until this point to not talk about Yukari too much, but she was too integral to the story to leave out.

“It’s weird that you live with your ex.” 

“Well, she’s not keen on dating a high schooler.” Minato had similar thoughts before, but he wasn’t about to try and push Yukari out. She’d been there first.

“Like it’s also not weird that you’re a high schooler.”

“Do you want me to go back to her?” Minato raised an eyebrow.

“No, stay here, please. I’m at least getting the rest of the story before I decide if you get a second date.”

“Alright, cool. You’re just as pretty anyway.”

She scoffed and laughed sardonically. “I feel like that was the wrong thing to say.”

“You’ll see why it wasn’t when you meet her.”

“Oh, I get to meet the ex?” She matched one of Minato’s mannerisms, that eyebrow thing he did when somebody said something interesting. “Already planning the wedding, eh?”

“Not what I meant, but sure.” His voice took a sad tone. “These things usually end in me dying so might as well meet that goal while I’m still here.”

She laughed. “You’re so fucking emo.”

“Oh, that wasn’t hyperbole. I died last time.”

She waved him off and shook her head. “Just continue your story, please.”

He continued the story until he reached the point where he met Ryoji.

“You’ve mentioned how attractive Ryoji is more times in this story than you’ve complimented me.” Kana mocked being offended.

“I figured that went without saying. It wasn’t me that found him attractive.” Minato sighed. “I heard Minako talk about it too much to not mention it. It was annoying because she was dating one of my best friends at the time.”

“Minako always struck me as a thot.” She expected a laugh but didn’t get one.

“I don’t know what that means.” Minato gave her a concerned look.

“That’s probably for the best.”

They finally finished their food but he was still sharing his story, eventually reaching the end, with his head resting on Aigis’ lap.

Kana was wiping tears from her eyes but she wasn’t quite sobbing. “Okay, that wasn’t fair.”

“Oh, it wasn’t fair?” Minato said, trying not to sound angry. “I woke up in the same spot like, 8 years later, still a 16 year old, trying to adjust to living in Tokyo, of all places. The only way my luck could be worse is if I woke up in Spain.”

She looked down. “Sorry.” 

“Do you believe me now?”

“I don’t really have a choice, do I?” Her eyes were no longer watery. “You’re stubborn as shit.”

“I’d leave you alone if you wanted me to.” 

“Well, I don’t want you to.” She laughed. “Although, dumping all your trauma on a first date isn’t usually the best way to start a healthy relationship.”

“I’m just glad I’m the one dumping my trauma this time,” Minato said. “I’m so used to other people just dumping things they should be in therapy for on me.”

“I could tell you all about Kamoshida, if you’d like,” Kana said but she was being playful, not serious. 

“I won’t stop you.” 

“Nah, I’d rather not think about that right now. Let’s go do something fun instead.” They paid their bill and went to the arcade. Kana was much better at Gun About than Minato anticipated. 

===

Souji and Kasumi had just had the best week of their lives: Yu, Rise and Yosuke being involved in taking down a palace left them with all the alone time in the world. One might assume they were doing something untoward, but the two instead spent all of their time getting ahead on homework. 

It was surprisingly domestic. Kasumi never assumed she’d be the type of person to enjoy that kind of thing, but they’d spent a lot of time cooking together when they weren’t studying, and if they weren’t doing that, they were cleaning up or watching TV or doing whatever they felt like.

“We’re probably much too young to be doing this sort of thing,” Kasumi said. Souji was flipping channels, trying to find something to watch.

“What? Being responsible people?” Souji laughed. “Not everybody can be out and about constantly like Yu and Rise. Your life is crazy enough, you just don’t have the option of being blissfully ignorant like I do.”

“So you don’t want to fight alongside everyone?”   
“If I’m asked, I will.” Kasumi had taken a seat next to him on the couch. He adjusted his position so he was laying with his head on her lap. “But we should flip the narrative, instead. I’ll let you be the superhero, and I’ll be the damsel in distress.”

“You’re a fucking nerd.”

“Blame Yu for that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized after writing this chapter that Kaoru dealing with his father's friends and having a best friend that doesn't just leave things alone reminds me heavily of dealing with my cousins when I was a kid. I learned a lot about things I didn't want to know about from people like that. I'd like to say it gets better, but it probably doesn't. 
> 
> Researching the plumes of dusk stuff is incredibly annoying. If I didn't have a ridiculous payoff planned, I'd have dropped it. 
> 
> Kind of a transitional chapter. Kana/Minato stuff got a little too heavy for my limited mental capacity.
> 
> I think the best examples of my brain turning to mush are still coming.


	43. Master Thief

_ Saturday, June 17, After School _

Haru had made it back to the Niijima’s apartment before Makoto, who gave Haru the key on the condition that she didn’t leave until Makoto got back. Makoto wasn’t planning on being out late. She’d just had a few Student Council things to take care of that she’d been putting off in favor of spending time with Goro. Permission slips for the school’s September Hawaii trip were due soon, and she got stuck approving the paperwork now that the school was short staffed. 

Any other year, she would have been furious at getting stuck with the work, but they were now down a principal and the replacement volleyball coach was Junpei Iori, who she liked and admired and somehow didn’t respect as an authority figure in the least.

Fighting in the Metaverse with Junpei was an experience for the Shujin students among the group. He’d had a reputation among the students as a complete goofball know-nothing and in the Metaverse he was largely the same, a competent fighter who focused more on shouting catch phrases and looking cool than getting the job done. For everything the Phantom Thieves had to go through to get their Personas to find out someone like Junpei, who didn’t have a care in the world, had one was bittersweet.

Makoto wasn’t proud of herself for feeling that way.

Haru entered the apartment to find Makoto’s mother sitting on the couch, reading something on a small tablet. She didn’t look up when Haru walked in, so she went right to Makoto’s room to drop off her bag before greeting Ari.

“Hello, Ari-chan!” Haru greeted cheerfully. She looked up from the tablet, said hello, then looked back down. Haru had brought her notebook and a textbook with her to the dining room table so she could study.

“Sorry,” she heard Ari say. “Let me finish this chapter.”

Haru waved her off; she needed to study anyway. She knew she wouldn’t be able to beat out Makoto for top of the class but she could get close. Studying and school was a nice distraction from her currently collapsing family life. 

The distraction studying was supposed to provide never came. She’d successfully fended off the school’s attempt at punishing her, although she’d have understood if they did. But that didn’t mean Sugimura was done trying to come after her. It just meant that he hadn’t thought of a new idea yet. Laying low for the weekend was probably her best bet, but she felt gross putting her life on hold, again, for that piece of shit. If only she had a more permanent solution.

She’d had an idea a few days ago but today, she felt ready to act. And she was about to act, until she was interrupted by Makoto’s mother.

“Haru-chan, how was school?”

‘Great, I locked my fiance on the roof a few days ago and now I’m scared he’s coming after me.’ “It was good!” Haru said. It wasn’t necessarily false. School that day was fun plus she’d gotten to spend time with Ryuji at lunch. That didn’t happen every day. “How was your day?”

“I don’t know where it went,” she held up her tablet with a big grin. “Can you believe these things? I have like 30 books to read.”

“You’ve never heard of eBooks?”

She shook her head. “I was uh, not around for their inception.” Ari changed the subject. “You look frustrated.”

“Oh, it’s just my school work.” 

“I don’t believe you.” Ari said. “I sit here listening to you and Makoto trade ideas like it’s a UN meeting. I doubt school is that frustrating.”

Haru sighed. “I thought Sae was the prosecutor.”

“She gets her instincts from me.” Ari took a seat next to Haru at the dining table. “What’s bothering you?”

“I don’t know how much Makoto has told you.” Haru wanted to tell as little of the story as possible.

“She told me you have a fiance from an arranged marriage that you’re worried about finding you. I know nothing more than that,” Ari said in a motherly tone. Haru forgot how comforting that tone could be. She hadn’t heard it from anyone in so long.

“The reason I’m hiding,” Haru started. “He sought me out after school and tried to attack my friend. He was reckless and ran into my knee.”

Ari laughed then apologized.

“It’s okay. It’s kind of funny. I locked him on the rooftop overnight.”

Ari scoffed. “Makoto did that to Sae once when they were little.”

“Really?” Haru couldn’t imagine Makoto doing such a thing.

“Well, Makoto was too little to know what she was doing.” Ari had a nostalgic gleam in her eye. “They liked to play cops and robbers but Makoto would just tottle around the house with her little evil laugh while Sae pretended to chase her.” She laughed to herself, like she remembered a detail that she hadn’t thought of at first. “Makoto was smarter than Sae realized, I suppose, because instead of running into the bathroom, she hid behind a shelf next to it.” She gestured towards a very old, large wooden shelf packed with books.” Sae checked the bathroom for little Makoto and she slammed the door shut.”

Haru laughed.

“She’d clicked the lock on the door so it’d shut and stay closed, then she went to play with her Buchi-kun toys.” Ari did an imitation of a little voice. “‘I’m a master thief, mommy!’ Takeo made me stop calling her my little thief, though. He thought it would give her ideas.”

Minutes later, Makoto walked through the door and met Haru’s eyes, immediately understanding there was a disturbance in the force. “Mom. What did you do?”

“Oh, nothing,” Ari said in a sing-songy voice. “Just be thankful I haven’t gotten out the photo albums yet.”

“Don’t worry, Master Thief,” Makoto’s blood ran cold. “Your mother was telling me about the time you locked Sae in the bathroom.”

“Oh!” Makoto laughed awkwardly. “Oh, yeah. I forgot about that!” She excused herself to her room. 

===

Ren didn’t have a story in this week’s paper because Keiko didn’t need the content, but he volunteered to stay after school on Saturday and help her with production. He didn’t feel like giving up his Sunday if he didn’t have to and Sumire wasn’t up to hanging out until later that night. Neither of them had gotten much sleep the night before.

“You’re lucky,” Keiko said. Ren was sitting in a folding chair watching over her shoulder as she designed the pages. “We’re never ready for production a day ahead of schedule. This will never happen again.”

“I’m really lucky,” Ren said. “I didn’t even have to do anything.”

“You make good moral support,” Keiko said. “I’ve only had three nervous breakdowns since you started.”

“I’ve only been here like two weeks.”

“I average eight mental breakdowns per week.” Keiko said flatly.

“That… that’s not healthy.” 

“If I wanted to be healthy, I wouldn’t be running a student newspaper by myself.” She stopped what she was doing and looked at Ren. “Some day, I’ll be an exhausted journalist with a drinking problem but I’ll ruin some rich guys’ schemes. That’s all I want out of life.”

“You know Ichiko Ohya?”

“She’s one of my idols, yes.” 

“Oh, god. There are people that  _ look up _ to Ohya?”

“You know her!?”

“I haven’t met her personally,” Ren said, covering for himself. He forgot he hadn’t really talked to her much this time loop. He did still have a business card, though. “She works with Narukami’s older brother.”

“Are you fucking serious?”

“What?”

“Souji’s older broth-” She stopped. “Fuck it. I need to get this done, and then you’re figuring out how to introduce me to Ohya.”

“Uh. I have a business card for her if you just want to call her.”

“That expedites the process. Gimme.”

“Rude.” Ren said, handing over the card.

“Now get the fuck out, I have a new mentor to harass.”

“I should warn yo-”

“ _ I said out!” _ Keiko interrupted him.

===

Tae had decided it was safer to have Kat drop off at the apartment instead of the clinic, especially if she was going to be hanging out with Rio anyway. It took the guessing game out of understanding the nuances of secrecy that came with selling (and buying) weed in a public place. 

It wasn’t that Kat  _ only _ hung out with Rio because it made a good alibi. Hanging out with Rio was like hanging out with Tae without having to worry about getting a lecture on her smoking habits; she had Kana for that anyway. Kana was distracted today, though.

She’d had her first date with Minato last night and a million thoughts running through her head, none of which were appropriate to spill without his express-written permission. Kat and Rio were going on without her, eagerly discussing one of the rumors going around school: Ryuji had, apparently, locked Haru Okumura’s fiance on the school roof. They knew, of course, that this was bullshit. Haru was very open with the fact that she did it and even explained why she did it. The funnier part of the story was the fact that the school’s rumor mill was siding with Ryuji. Sugimura had been seen on campus multiple times and his previous run-in with Makoto left him with a big PR problem among students.

“It’s funny as shit to me,” Rio said. “Sweet, momma’s boy Ryuji, and now he’s got the school convinced he’s assaulted somebody  _ twice. _ ” 

“Sakamoto?” Kana cut in. “He doesn’t seem the momma’s boy type.”

“It’s the sweetest thing,” Rio said. “He’s actually really level headed and thoughtful.”

“Sounds like Rio’s got a crush,” Kat said, giving her a side-eyed glance.

“I’ve been given strict commands to not mess with Okumura and I will follow that order.” Rio remembered Ren’s fear. “Besides, I don’t get crushes.”

“Sure, bud. Sure.” Kat had a mischievous look in her eye. “He’s not your type. You prefer emos.”

“That’s not true!” 

“What are you wearing right now?” Kat reached over and snapped the strap of Rio’s black tank top. It had a big skull on the back. “And you’re wearing a choker.” 

“I’m surprised you haven’t asked Tae for advice on using eyeliner yet.” Kana teased. 

“...she hasn’t had time to show me.” Rio began to feel a bit defeated by the teasing. “This is the first time I’ve been able to do this kind of thing.”

“I get ya, dude.” Kat was used to the dirty looks from more conservative dressers daily. “We’re not tryin’ to be mean. You rock the look.”

“Agreed. Wouldn’t be you without it, honestly.” Kana thought about it for a few minutes. “What’s with the change, though? You really admire Tae that much?”

Kat looked offended on behalf of Rio. “Bro, Tae is dope as hell. I want to be just like her, too.”

“You only say that because she gives you money.” 

Kat gave a thoughtful look. “Nah, fam. I don’t sell to people I don’t like.”

“That really limits your consumer base.” Rio was really hoping Kana wasn’t about to provide an economics lesson. 

“Free market, dude. I can do what I want.”

Rio laughed. “You sound like you’re trying to justify causing an oil spill, not selling drugs.” She had started to feel thankful for the subject change but Kana interrupted that thought.

“You never answered my question.” Kana said, a bit more seriously. “Why the change?”

“Can’t say I’m not curious,” Kat said, nodding towards Rio.

She wasn’t sure whether or not to be honest; she assumed lying would drive a wedge when she  _ finally _ had real friends for the first time since she could remember, but the truth would also cause some problems.

“It’s mostly just Tae, I guess.” That wasn’t a lie. “My parents are, or were, I guess, straight laced. They wanted the perfect, quiet, dedicated daughter. I was that, for the longest time, but they didn’t take the stuff with Kamoshida well.”

Kat winced a little. 

“It was just typical victim blaming you see from those types. ‘He’s a star athlete, of course he’s got some vices.’ All that bullshit.” She removed her hands from her lap to scratch her elbow and noticed they were shaking a bit. “The Phantom Thieves changed their heart. Dad is in jail but he’ll be out soon. Mom, well, I just started talking to her again.”

“Is she any different?”

“It’s like a completely different person.” Rio sighed. “I never feel like I got to be properly mad at her. She didn’t even bitch about my outfit last time I visited.”

Kat and Kana just looked at each other, unsure of what to say. 

Rio took a deep breath and blew it out through puffed cheeks. It came out like a sigh, or an exasperated noise, the kind of noise made by somebody who didn’t know what to do.

“I feel like an asshole for not just forgiving my mom, still. I even talked to her about it and she understands. Which makes it worse.”

“Why does that make it worse?” Kana asked.

“Because she knows she fucked up, she apologized, and her intentions are good. Isn’t it immoral for me to still hold everything over her head?”

“But she never faced any sort of punishment.”

“But is it up to me to punish her?”

“Oh. Dude, that totally makes sense.” Kat looked like a lightbulb went off. The look on her face was a comedic departure from her usual stoic, or dopey, as Kana would call it, demeanor. “You feel you’re right to be angry, but in acting, you’d be acting like she did before. She thought she was right to be angry and she lashed out because she didn’t think you’d rectify the behavior she deemed worthy of being angry at. Now you’re worried you’re no different for being angry at her despite the fact that she’s rectified her behavior, albeit through some weird metaphysical fuckery.”

“Oh, god.” Kana said as soon as Kat finished. “My brain hurts.”

“I’m just glad she said ‘fuck.’ I thought we lost her.” Rio said. “You carrying?”

“No weed til you tell me I’m right.” Kat returned as stern of a look as she was capable of.

“...you nailed it.”

“Cool.”

Kana smacked her forehead.

===

_ Evening _

It was fairly close to LeBlanc’s closing time but Sae was jonesing for some curry and she definitely needed some coffee. It had been a long day. She hadn’t been fired but she wished she had. Naoto was quick to pick up the phone when Sae called and while she already had plans with Chie, they weren’t set in stone. The two decided Sae made a good addition to their plans. They’d wanted to take some time to go over the arrest of Junya Kaneshiro themselves, or at least make sure they were on the same page with the information they had available. 

Chie was also dying because for some reason, every meal Yu had cooked in the last week had been vegetarian because “if they’re back in the game they all need to eat a balanced diet.” He didn’t know she had a guillotine on back order. 

She couldn’t believe she was able to find a used one online. It’s since been sanitized since it’s last use.

She’d told Naoto as such when the call came asking if Sae could tag along. 

“As long as I get some meat, you could bring Adachi, himself.” Naoto laughed but Chie wasn’t kidding. “I’m regretting not helping Adachi kill Yu.”

Naoto stopped laughing.

The three made their way to a restaurant in Kichijoji that specialized in meat, soups involving meat, skewers with meat, and a whole lot of other meat-based products. Naoto was now concerned that this wouldn’t be a conducive environment to discuss such matters in. She was right to be concerned.

“You guys took him down?” Sae was careful not to use Kaneshiro’s name, just in case.

“Fey let uf han-dul ih,” Chie said through a mouthful. 

Naoto sighed. “They let us handle it,” she translated. “It was far more complex than we could have imagined.”

“His crimes?”

“No. Stealing a heart,” she said in a hushed tone. “It’s more of a process, like a heist. What we did before? That’s just basic dungeon crawling.”

“You mean brute force methods?” Sae asked and Naoto nodded. “What’s dif-” she paused. “Nevermind. The less I know, the better.”

“‘Ow’s the police hand-” Chie swallowed. “Handling him turning himself in?”

“Not well.” Sae’d had a very frustrating day. “The director is blaming the Phantom Thieves and treating him like a victim rather than an extreme criminal.”

“You don’t sound surprised,” Naoto said, taking a bite of her food. 

“Nothing surprises me with them anymore. Ever since I…” Sae wasn’t even sure how to explain the change she went through. “Well, ever since a month or so ago, it’s like I can see right through their plans. They aren’t even good plans. Since their leader died, there’s a power vacuum.”

“Any idea on who’s trying to fill it?” Chie had finished her plate and leaned back in her chair. If she was wearing a belt, she probably would have undone it. 

“The director is one, but he’s not even qualified for the job he has now,” Sae spat. “He was placed as a figurehead to render us useless. He did a good job of that.”

“I can’t believe you haven’t quit yet,” Chie said. “I dropped at the first sign of trouble.”

“You must be a lot smarter than me.” Sae looked down at her plate. She wasn’t even close to being done. She’d been having a hard time eating lately, but not for a lack of being hungry. 

“I wish Yukiko could hear you say that. She’d be laughing for the next month,” Chie chuckled. “Nobody’s ever accused me of being smart before.” 

“Nonsense,” Naoto muttered. 

“To me being smarter than Sae or to nobody ever accusing me of being smart?”

Sae chuckled and Naoto tried to stutter a response before sighing, shrugging and taking another bite.

Most of the night consisted of Sae complaining about Kaida. She had a lot to get off her chest.

===

Keiko had been pacing back and forth around her parent’s home for hours to the point that her mother actually asked about her day, for once. She’d had the double edged sword of a home life where she was largely left to her own devices, meaning she was both free to do whatever she wanted and also incredibly lonely. 

It really wasn’t until Ren barged into the newspaper club that she’d had anyone she’d consider anything close to a friend and in this case, it was like he was going to  _ make _ it his business to be her friend. She wasn’t given a choice.

She wasn’t upset by that. She really needed the extra help and the last couple of issues flourished because of his help. Even having someone able to do the smallest of things was a massive help. She’d finally felt confident enough in her work that she could put it out there for the world to see, or at least advertise that it was there. If anyone really wanted to see her previous work, they could easily find it, but what she’d put together the last few weeks was work she would have no problem shoving under the nose of an unsuspecting professional.

Ren having a connection to Ichiko Ohya, of all people, finally gave her the opportunity to throw some of her work under the nose of a real, professional journalist and she had a story that was worth looking at: The write-up she’d put together about Kamoshida’s exploits and the death of Principal Kobayakawa had been widely shared among the student body and applauded by the parts of the school staff that weren’t useless sycophants. 

All she had to do was dial the number.

It sounded so simple when put that way.

‘Why is dialing the phone so hard?’ Keiko thought. ‘I never have this trouble.’ She had the number typed into the phone, she just had to hit the big green button that said dial. ‘Hi, yes, I’m a random high school student. You don’t know me but  _ please give me career advice slash take me under your wing thanks bye _ .’

‘Maybe I shouldn’t say it quite that way.’

‘But she’d also probably appreciate it being punctual.’

‘But it’s kind of creepy.’

‘And I kind of stole her phone number from someone else.’

‘Maybe I should talk to Ren about it first…’

And she would have talked to Ren about it first, had Keiko, in her pacing, not dropped the phone. She made a miraculous catch right before it hit the ground, which surely would have shattered the screen. She really couldn’t afford another phone nor did she want to have the conversation with her mother about her needing  _ another _ new phone. She was happy to have saved herself from that embarrassment.

There was one embarrassment she hadn’t saved herself from. 

Her thumb, playing its role in the miracle of not-breaking-her-phone, hit that big green button she’d been afraid of.

That would have been fine, had Ohya not picked up on the first ring.

“‘Lo? This is Ohya.”

Keiko had to scramble to get the phone to her ear, and even more so to come up with the words she wanted to say to one of her heroes. 

“Hello?” Ohya sounded annoyed, which made Keiko even more nervous.

“HithisisKeikoMiyaharaIgotyournumberfrom-”

“Kid!” Ohya shouted. “Kid, right?”

“Yeah. I’m in high school.” Keiko took a deep breath. “I kind of forced my friend to give me your number.”

“Who do I know that’s in high school?” Ohya spoke again before Keiko could respond. “Right! That day outside Madarame’s!”

“Ren was at Madarame’s?” Keiko hadn’t known about that. Her mind immediately went to the fact that he was closely involved with Kamoshida’s downfall. Now he was at the scene of the next Phantom Thieves target?

“Oh, so that’s the kid’s name.”

“Why was Ren at Madarame’s?” She asked, not expecting an answer.

“He was wearing a maintenance man outfit and he had a cat with him.” Ohya sighed. “I was kind of- uh, drunk. I could be wrong.”

“...Hmm. He doesn’t own a cat.” That Keiko knew of. Now that she thought about it, she didn’t ask.

“He’s kinda tall? Frizzy hair, glasses?” That was definitely Ren, if she were to provide a minimalist explanation of what he looked like.

“Yeah. The kid doesn’t know how to dress, that’s for sure.” Keiko had been meaning to make fun of him for it more but she had been busy and he made himself scarce on days he was allowed to.

“But that’s the guy, right?”

“Yes, ma’am.” She needed to get on topic. “Anyway, that’s not why I called.” Keiko said. “I’ve been running my school’s student paper by myself for the last year and I was wondering if you could take a look at some of my stories. I’d like to go further with this as a career.”

“Do you like money?”   
“Eh, if I could do without it, I would.”

“Perfect. Don’t do this for money, mostly because there’s no money in it.” Ohya laughed. “Judging from our conversation, you have the snooping part of this job figured out. I’ll look, but you’re helping me figure out why that kid was snooping around Madarame’s.”

“He’s actually my only reporter.” Keiko sighed.

“Pull rank, then!” Ohya sounded pretty enthusiastic about Keiko abusing her only reporter.

“I’ll ask him about it on Monday.” 

“Good. In return, I’ll take a look at your portfolio. If it helps, I’m already impressed.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ll be in touch.”

Keiko’s heart soared then sank. She’d admit to being surly, but she had quickly grown a soft spot for the criminal transfer student. She secretly hoped he had nothing to do with the Phantom Thieves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally crossed the 200k word threshold! Although, I did cross it last week, for those of you reading my other story. I have no idea how things got this out of hand.
> 
> I went back and reread this chapter before posting it. Typically, after I get done with my third or fourth round of edits, I don't look at it again before posting. I'm glad I looked, though, not because it needed the extra eyes, but because this chapter is fucking adorable and it made my day a little better. Hopefully it has that effect on other people, as well.
> 
> Also, it's surprisingly easy to buy the components to make a guillotine online. I don't know what use I would have for it, but I'm really trying to convince myself that I don't need one.
> 
> I don't need one, right?
> 
> There's a chance I miss updating on Monday. I recently came up with a better idea for Chapter 44 so I'm scrapping everything I have written. Considering I have good working drafts up until chapter 47, this is uh, not great. It's better this way, I swear.
> 
> I've been going over old chapters when I have free time at work because typically going over an old chapter doesn't take more than a few minutes at a time, so if you're interested in a slightly easier reread of the beginning of the story, I'm up through chapter 4. I'm fixing some minor continuity errors along with adding some smaller details to make things later in the story make more sense. Once I'm all caught up on fixing the story, I'll post on FFnet.


	44. Blue Are the People Here That Walk Around

_ Sunday, June 18, Afternoon _

Yusuke had taken time to reflect and decided the word “upheaval” described what happened to his and his mother’s lives after Madarame’s confession. He supposed that there was a certain beauty to his mother’s tragic story: The disabled artist who painted a masterpiece, only to have a scorned lover steal credit for the work, going so far as to change a vital portion of the painting to create an air of mystery surrounding it.

It was like something Yusuke expected to see in a movie or read in a book. What those movies and books don’t explain, though, is just how stressful the attention from the media and well-wishers can be. His mother, especially, was a bit of a shut-in. She wasn’t comfortable leaving the apartment for extended periods of time and she certainly wasn’t capable of giving a proper interview explaining her intentions with the  _ Sayuri _ . She preferred to correspond over e-mail but many people preferred a phone call or an in person meeting. She’d attend, then sleep for what felt like days at a time.

Yusuke was lucky, in that sense. He was often ignored by these people despite his strong feelings about Madarame. There wasn’t a single person he could think of more deserving of his ire but the media had largely taken the attention off of Madarame. Instead of asking specific questions about their feelings towards the plagiarist, it was as though his involvement in the scandal was purely coincidental. His mother seemed relieved, as she really didn’t wish too much ill on Madarame. She just wanted credit for her masterpiece, and while she acknowledged there was an element of greed in her need for money, there was also an element of necessity. Her condition rendered her unable to work and Yusuke’s efforts were just enough for rent and enough food to keep them alive. It would be nice to live comfortably, for once, where her son wouldn’t have to “whore out his talents” on the internet, as she had put it. 

He’d told her multiple times that he enjoyed the work for the most part. As long as the art wasn’t pornographic, he was normally able to find a shared joy in his client’s excitement. In a way, it was his gateway to the world in a matter similar to that app the Phantom Thieves used to enter the Metaverse. Before Yuuki came along, he’d been as much of a hermit as his mother had been. She couldn’t really be left alone for too long.

Now he was spending his Sundays out with friends, the influx of cash following his mother’s star rising (and a handsome settlement Madarame insisted upon) allowing them to hire an actual caretaker. Yuuki had begged him to “wingman” for him, whatever that meant, with one of their classmates. He’d been pining after Hifumi Togo for months but after his awakening, Yusuke noticed Yuuki had been much more confident and natural. He was still a bit quiet, but gone was the timid nature that followed him from Shujin Academy. 

Yusuke had traveled to meet Yuuki in Kichijoji where he had planned for the two of them to meet up with Hifumi for lunch at a little cafe, but she changed plans last minute to meet at some place called GOLF, which neither of the boys had ever heard of. She gave them an address though, and they were standing outside of a large warehouse-style building about a block down from the darts and billiards club Ren had told them about.

“What kind of place is this?” Yusuke asked Yuuki. “It feels very industrial.”

“I’m not really sure,” Yuuki said. “Hifumi-chan said something about expanding her horizons and learning new strategies.”

“What kind of strategies can she learn from a warehouse in the middle of Tokyo?”

“I don’t-” Yuuki stopped talking when he noticed Hifumi walk up, surprisingly not alone. She had a really tall woman with her that the boys both recognized. “Kana?”

“Oh, hey guys,” Kana smiled. “Hifumi told me she was hanging out with you guys and I decided to tag along. Hope that’s okay.”

Yuuki was about to respond but Yusuke spoke instead. “I believe it would be hypocritical for Yuuki to have a problem with that when he brought me along. I must ask. What is this place?”

“I strongly believe that the best way to improve my shogi skills is to become involved in other disciplines.” Yusuke had noticed previously that her eyes would light up whenever she spoke about shogi and now was no different. He completely understood what had Yuuki so enchanted. If only he could capture such life in a painting. “Golf is also something that I, uh, have recently found interesting.”

Yusuke should have realized the building’s name was literal. “This is an indoor golf course?”

“Driving range, actually,” Hifumi said. “You’re given golf balls and a club, and you try to hit targets on the ground. It’s not an actual game of golf, but it’s a start.”

“That just seems like an excuse to hit something really hard,” Kana said. “I recently found an outlet for that and it’s such a big help.”

She was met with a death glare from Yuuki but Yusuke was amused. “It’s quite the help. I, too, have found my life’s enjoyment increase a great deal from hitting things very hard.”

The foursome walked into the building and made their way towards the front counter. The man at the front struggled to find a club large enough for Kana to use but after a brief search, he did find one. She held it like a sword, nearly taking Yuuki’s head off when she turned around too quickly.

“Ah!” Yuuki gave a shout as he ducked, narrowly escaping the bulky, misshapen oval that almost put out his lights.

“Sorry!” Kana cringed sheepishly and held the clubhead pointing down. At least this way, she’d only have a chance of hitting someone’s shins.

The other three already had their clubs so they headed to a platform and spread out in four separate spots. 

“Anyone know how to swing a golf club?” Yuuki asked. He held it out in front of him like a baseball bat extending across the strike zone. 

“I don’t think it’s like baseball.” Kana said, holding the club down at a diagonal, so the clubhead was even with a ball she had placed on a tee. “I’ve only seen this on TV, so don’t expect it to be good.”

Hifumi laughed. “I’ve been watching tutorials online and practicing with a kendo I found in the garage.” She held the club out in front of her similar to Kana, but Hifumi looked more sure of herself. The other three watched as she brought the club back behind her head and swung downward. She didn’t swing hard; anyone watching who knew what they were doing would have assumed it was a practice swing, but she made solid contact with the ball and shot a line drive about 80 yards in front of her, towards the target closest to the platform. She didn’t land on it, nor was she aiming for it, but everyone else was impressed. 

“You learned to do that just from watching tutorials?”

“Shogi is good for sharpening the mind,” Hifumi said. “And I’m always watching tutorials for different things. Before golf, I learned jiu-jitsu.”

“Bullshit,” Kana laughed and Hifumi joined her.

“Just because I  _ learned _ it doesn’t mean I can  _ do _ it, Kana-chan,” Hifumi spoke as Yusuke hilariously and wildly swung, his club wobbly as though he didn’t possess the strength to swing it. The ball skidded across the grass and came to a stop about 30 yards in front of them. 

Yuuki wanted to laugh but he didn’t, because he didn’t expect he would fare much better. 

He did not fare much better, but he did hit the ball further than Yusuke. Yuuki swung with more confidence and struck a short line drive that changed to a skid about 40 yards from the platform, stopping at about 60 yards. 

“Good job, Mishima-kun!” She then looked to Kana, who was seriously dreading her turn. “You’re turn!”

“Oh, boy,” she said flatly. She approached the tee and took a wild, powerful practice swing that was equal parts dangerous to herself and those around her. “Okay,” she said to herself. “I can do this.”

She swung that same wild swing, her eyes closed, not wanting to know where the ball ended up.

She whiffed completely. She swung again, and whiffed again. “Ugh!” The loud grunt drew attention from those around her before she took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself. 

“I’m going to do this.”

Her backswing was slower this time, emulating what she’d seen from Hifumi, but her forward swing was still fairly wild. She did make contact with the ball this time, though, sending it way to the right of the driving range, and about twice as far as Hifumi’s ball.

“Christ.” The group had been silent for some seconds before Yuuki broke the silence. “I think you should try and straighten that one out.”

Kana, jokingly, gave a flex then an innocent grin. “I think I’m winning.”

She never did straighten that shot out, but she definitely did win when it came to distance. She didn’t hit a single target all day.

Hifumi, on the other hand, was enjoying herself thoroughly, hitting target after target. She even drew some eyes from more regular golfers who were impressed how quickly she picked up on it.

Kana hadn’t seen her have this much fun in forever but that dropped quickly after they left the driving range. Hifumi’s phone rang and it was almost definitely her overbearing mother.

“I’m with friends, mother,” She’d said tersely. “I can practice more later.”

They couldn’t hear the other line. 

“Fine. Fine. I’ll come home. We can go over strategies, or something.”

More lecturing, the group assumed.

“I don’t  _ want _ to do another photo shoot.”

The group could hear shouts but they weren’t intelligible.

“Fine. If I do another shoot, I get to pick the photographer.”

The other line was no longer shouting, at least. Hifumi hung up and gave a grunt of frustration.

“Yuuki, would you mind doing a photoshoot?” 

“What?” Yuuki’s face was as red as the targets on the ground. “I mean, erm, I-” he couldn’t stop stammering. “I’m not as good as what you’re used to.”

“Please? For me?” Kana laughed at Hifumi. She was never this manipulative.

“That’s just not fair, Hifumi,” Kana said. “You’re not giving him a choice when you look at him like that.”

Yuuki finally gathered himself enough to mutter words. “I’ll do it, that’s fine.” He looked to Yusuke, who was supposed to be helping him. He discovered that the young artist was not there. “Where the hell did Yusuke go?”

===

Jiro Madarame had taken to begging in Kichijoji. He didn’t have a choice. His father’s money was gone, the Atelier was gone and nobody felt sorry for him. They shouldn’t feel sorry for him, he thought. He was every bit as complicit in his father’s plagiarism as his father was. He  _ knew _ , and he didn’t do anything. And now he was a vagrant. He didn’t have artistic ability to fall back on. He didn’t know how to cook. He had no life skills.

His only real thought besides ‘I need to find something to eat before I die’ was a constant stream of ‘fuck that stupid fucking sperm donor’ over and over again. Although, technically he paid to cum in Jiro’s mother, which makes him a customer, not a donor. ‘I was the free prize that comes with the stuff people buy from Tanaka.’

He sat outside the jazz club; he’d raided their dumpster looking for scraps and found nothing. Luckily, his clothes hadn’t yet gotten raggedy enough that he’d get chased out by anyone. Part of his ploy, he thought, would be to make sure his clothes stayed clean but laundromats were getting expensive. Money was too hard to come by. 

“You look familiar.” Jiro looked up at being addressed by another kid, tall with hair so dark it looked navy. He recognized him, but he didn’t know where from. The confusion must’ve shown on his face because the kid spoke again. “Do you know my mother? Kitagawa would be her surname.”

“I want nothing to do with you.” Jiro knew who this person was. His father had told him of Yusuke, Maname’s angry charge with a vendetta against his father. Jiro turned his head away. “Unless you’ve come to gloat.”

“I will do no such thing!” Yusuke looked offended.

Jiro was unsure of how to read Yusuke’s tone but his expression was one of pity. “I deserve it.”

“You look like you just got done digging through a dumpster.” 

“...” Jiro looked at his shoes. They bore the only fruits of his dive.

“You aren’t guilty of your father’s crimes.”

===

Yusuke returned to the group minutes later with a straggler that nobody else recognized.

Jiro was worried Yusuke bringing him would raise questions but instead he was introduced as a friend. 

“This is Jiro, a friend from before I started at Kosei,” Yusuke said. It wasn’t exactly a lie. If their parents were close, they were bound to have met at some point, whether they remembered it or not.

Jiro was pleasantly surprised when he was mostly ignored. He got to listen to three kids go on in a way he never had the chance to. Apparently, they’d been golfing or something, because they were talking about it enthusiastically. He’d never had friends to hang out with like that. He was kept home from school and mostly isolated from any portion of society that didn’t involve the art world. His father was supremely disappointed in him when he discovered his son was practically allergic to not sucking at art.

Sadly, he was only mostly ignored. 

Hifumi, at one point, had mentioned the Phantom Thieves. They weren’t a big name, Jiro knew, but being directly related to a victim made him particularly curious of their exploits. Their exploits, in his opinion, were the reason he was homeless.

“I hate those spineless assholes,” he spat angrily, receiving odd looks from the tall woman and the boy that wasn’t Yusuke. Yusuke looked like he was about to change the subject, or attempt to, but Jiro continued anyway. “They threatened my father and whatever they did, he was a sobbing mess within a day. Then he turned himself in and confessed to all his crimes. Fuck me, I guess.”

“Wait, your father?”

“Ichiryusai Madarame.” Jiro said. “The Phantom Thieves last victim.”

“Victim?” Kana scoffed. “Sure, kid. You’re as much of a Madarame victim as anyone else is. He’s no victim.”

“I didn’t realize the Phantom Thieves had fans.” Jiro really wanted to walk away but he really needed the help Yusuke was offering. 

“I imagine what you went through was not easy,” Yusuke said and would have said more, had Hifumi not interjected.

“I’m sorry you ended up homeless,” she said. 

“Our friend went through something similar,” Kana said, thinking of Rio. “The only reason she didn’t end up in your shoes is because somebody took her in.”

“Her parents deserved to be taken down like that, though?” Jiro was skeptical.

“I don’t know the whole story.” Kana sighed. “I think-” she looked at Yusuke, unsure of how much she could share with this stranger. “It’s hard for me to remain impartial.”

“Why?”

“I was a mental shutdown victim.” Kana didn’t like mentioning that out loud, but it became easier to say every time she had to say it.

“Oh.” Jiro was starting to feel like an asshole.

“The Phantom Thieves saved me.” She sighed. “And my best friend.”

“So you feel indebted to them.”

“I guess you could say that. I don’t feel indebted, but I believe the people they take down are truly deserving.”

“You think my dad deserved what happened to him?”

“No offense, Jiro, but you’ve been homeless for a week.” Yusuke said. “I get that you’re upset, but my mother and I spent years homeless because of your father. I went weeks at a time between meals.”

Jiro said nothing.

“I want to help you, but this little pity party you’re throwing for your father, who is personally responsible for both my mother’s disability and our poverty, is pathetic.”

Nobody said anything for a little bit, Kana and Yuuki knowing better than to let the conversation continue any further, and Hifumi thinking something about how much Yusuke knew about the Phantom Thieves not adding up.

“I’m sorry,” Jiro muttered, not quite loud enough for Yusuke to hear.

“Me too. We’re going to meet my mom now.”

===

Maruki hadn’t heard from Wakaba in awhile, so he was completely out of the loop on what kind of research she was doing. He had decided earlier that day that a trip to LeBlanc was in order, partially because he thought he’d run into Wakaba and partially because he was jonesing for some curry. It’d been a long time since he’d stopped in. 

“Ren, you’ve got company,” Sojiro shouted from downstairs towards the attic, then turned to Maruki. “How can I help you?”

Maruki made his order, unsure of whether or not he actually wanted to talk to Ren. He liked Ren but he knew the feelings weren’t mutual, and probably rightfully so. Maruki was capable of admitting he hadn’t thought things through from a moral perspective. The only perspective he had considered when devising his plan to work for Shido was one that needed a lot of context to explain and he couldn’t even begin to provide half of it. 

The story was just so unbelievable that he was sure it would just infuriate the kid. Sadly, he was already making his way down the stairs, so Maruki was out of options other than run away.

Ren had been in the attic working with Sumire and Futaba. Futaba had wanted Ren’s help finding something called a ‘plume of dusk’ that he had no clue about. It was Sumire’s last day off before she had to start training again and she’d planned on spending every second she could with Ren.

He had made it down the stairs and confronted Maruki.

“You here for me?”

“Actually, I really just wanted a cup of coffee.”

“You come to the home of someone you tried to murder for coffee?”

Maruki showed visible confusion. “What?”

“This is a good start.” Ren sighed. “Come upstairs. We can’t talk here.” There wasn’t anyone in the cafe besides Sojiro, but Ren preferred the secrecy of the attic.

“But I want my food…”

“Fucking fine. Don’t, then. I don’t care.”

“I didn’t try and kill anyone,” Maruki said. “That’s not how I do things.”

“So you  _ didn’t  _ unleash Adachi in the metaverse?”

“Adachi?” Maruki had to think about it. He knew the name quite well, a suspected metaverse user responsible for a string of murders and attempted murders in Inaba, but he’d never met him. “Like Tohru Adachi?”

Ren nodded.

“I’ve only heard of him.”

Ren examined Maruki’s face and came to the conclusion that he was, in fact, not lying. “The last time we were in your palace, you were sick.”

“Correct.” Maruki had knowledge of their excursions into his palace but he never got details. He wasn’t all that averse to them releasing the mental shutdown victims. He’d been doing it, himself, until he started getting migraines. “I had the flu for a few days. I slept through nearly all of it.” 

“What do you remember?”

Maruki would have answered the question, had he not collapsed in the middle of LeBlanc.

He came to what he thought was minutes later in a white room that reminded him of a hospital, on a bed that would have been comfortable had he not been restrained on it by several black tendrils. He knew better than to fight back.

“Your lack of resolve leaves me worried,” a voice that sounded a lot like his own said. “All we’ve worked for, and you’re just letting these  _ children _ ruin it?”

“Have you ever thought about what we’re actually doing?” A small shock went through Maruki’s system. “They’re right to have concerns. What makes us the judge of what true happiness is?”

“Have you forgotten the power in which you wield?” Maruki couldn’t see the person speaking. There was a chance it was a disembodied voice. His eyes could only look up at the ceiling, like they were being held there. “It is not happenstance that the divine has blessed you so.”

“The divine has forced me to commit atrocities.”

“The atrocities are your own as much as they are mine.” The voice morphed as it spoke. It became deeper, more intimidating and less his own. “You will not be granted escape.” The voice faded as color returned to the world and the restraints vanished.

Maruki awoke feeling completely drained, sweaty and sick. His forehead burned. It was then he noticed he was able to move his head again. He looked around the room, noticing a woman in a green spiderweb dress and heels filling out paperwork at a desk. 

“I can’t believe they called me in to take care of you, of all people.”

Maruki tried to speak, but he was too weak. He croaked instead.

“Don’t speak. You’re lucky to be alive.” He heard her sigh. “The world would be better off if you weren’t.”

He tried to speak, croaking again, but the words were intelligible. “Agreed.”

===

_ Evening _

Yusuke and Jiro walked into the shabby apartment; Maname was sitting on the couch watching television when they came in. 

“Yusuke, how was your-” She stopped when she saw they had company. 

“Mom, I brought back a friend. He doesn’t have anywhere to stay.”

Her eyes lit up. “Oh my god!” She tried to scoot herself into her wheelchair, which was sitting next to the couch but instead Yusuke and Jiro walked over and sat alongside her. “Jiro!”

Jiro didn’t expect to be recognized, let alone by the son of the woman whose life his father ruined.

“That’s me.”

“Oh, dear.” She leaned over to her right, where he was sitting, and pulled him into a hug. “I’m so happy that you’re okay.” 

Like many mothers, and Sojiro, Maname Kitagawa had a tendency to fret when she thought a child wasn’t getting fed. “Have you eaten? Yusuke, can we order some food?”

Jiro didn’t have much to say. He didn’t  _ know _ what to say. He hadn’t expected to be welcomed with such open arms.

He offered to help but he got a lecture.

“Just because I need a wheelchair to get around doesn’t mean I’m useless.” She huffed this in a tone similar to the one Yusuke spoke in earlier. “I can even walk for bits at a time. I just-” she paused, as if not knowing how to explain it. “I get numb. My legs can support my body but I can’t feel my way around.”

“I’m sorry.” Jiro knew this was his father’s fault.

“Don’t.” He knew not to press the issue from her tone. “You’re not responsible for-”

“My father’s actions. I know.” He sighed. “Yusuke told me.”

Maname gave a subdued smile of pride in her son. “Neither of us blame you, at all.”

He didn’t say anything back.

“Jiro, listen to me. At the time all this started, you were living with your mother.” She’d wheeled her way back to the couch and grabbed his hand. “You are as much of a victim of your father as anyone.”

“He raised me.”

“It’s a small miracle you’re still alive. Ichi can’t keep a houseplant alive, let alone a person.” She gave him a friendly smile but he didn’t want to feel it’s warmth. “You’re welcome to stay with us. It’s only right. You never got to escape like we did.”

“Escape?”

“There’s a lot more to your father than you realize.” She sighed. “Epileptics are supposed to drink. Did you know that? Isn’t that garbage?”

Jiro couldn’t help but laugh. He was pretty sure he understood what she was getting at. “A little, I guess. I imagine you’d like an escape.”

“I would. I guess what I’m saying is one of these days, I’m going to sit down and tell you more about your father.”

“I’d like that.” He wasn’t lying. He knew there were some issues in regards to his father but he didn’t know what they were, exactly. He just knew that the people closest to him weren’t his biggest fans.

“You won’t. They aren’t happy stories. The only thing your father was good at was something you probably aren’t interested in.” There was a sleazy way to her tone that told him not to ask.

He gave her a disgusted look. “I’d rather not hear about that.”

“I assumed so.”

Yusuke returned with KFC just a bit later to find Jiro in much higher spirits. Madarame had always spoken highly of Maname and now he understood why. His hatred for his father grew, knowing how awful he was to such a nice woman.

There’s a world somewhere, Jiro thought, that his father wasn’t a criminal and a pig, where him and Yusuke were raised as brothers. It was a nice thought. 

===

_ Monday, June 19, Early Morning _

“Trickster.” Ren heard a whisper. “Trickster, wake up.”

“ _ Trickster _ ,” the voice was angrier and the room became colder. 

He sat up, noticing somebody took his blanket away.

“What?  _ I’m awake _ , Jesus.” He looked at his assailant. “ _ Lavenza?” _

“Trickster, the Velvet Room is no longer safe.” The youngest Velvet Room attendant was in front of him wearing her blue garb, looking worried but not completely terrified.

He was awake now. “What?”

“Master forced us to flee.” She spoke the words like they were foreign to her, like Igor would never do such a thing.

“Us?” As far as Ren knew, Lavenza was alone.

“Each of Igor’s assistants,” Lavenza confirmed. “We escaped to a realm in which our aggressor held a lesser power.”

“A lesser power,” Ren repeated. “Uh, okay. First thing, let me get a shirt.” He was suddenly aware of how little he was wearing; not only was he lacking a shirt, he’d not worn pajama pants that night because of the heat.

Lavenza blushed as he left his bed to grab a pair of pajama pants that had been discarded on the floor and a shirt from a heap on the other side of the room. 

“You can, like, sit down, or something.” Ren normally thought of himself as a pretty good host, ‘erm, not that kind of host,’ but he wasn’t quite sure how to handle Lavenza’s presence. 

“Thank you, inmat-er Trickster, but I prefer to stand.” 

Ren laughed. “Inmate! I haven’t heard that one in a long time.”

“It was a regrettable oversight.” Lavenza’s eyes downturned. “I never properly apologized.”

“You can apologize after I graduate high school,” Ren said. “You, or Caroline, or Justine, don’t remember who, said it best. You were as much of a prisoner as I was. Maybe someday, I’ll no longer be a prisoner.”

“I wish I could offer some form of comfort, Trickster, but my own position is precarious as it is.”

Ren nodded. “I’m not looking for comfort. I’m looking for a way out.” He took a seat on the couch. “As far as I’m concerned, I’m getting out of this with everyone intact. There’s no reason that doesn’t include you.”

“You have already been through too much. I couldn’t ask-”

“It’s a good thing you didn’t ask, then.” Ren fixed his socks, which were still bunched up from being put on too quickly. “Let’s get downstairs. From what I can remember, you don’t get to eat over there, and our curry is to die for.”

Lavenza paled at hearing the word “die” until she remembered that was a popular expression among humans. Then she chuckled. “Humans have such a strange way of speaking.”

===

Minato woke at the sound of Aigis activating one of her weapons. He’d know the sound anywhere.

“We have an intrud-”

“I would like to think we’re friends.” A familiar voice soothed the room’s unwary tension.

Minato heard the sound of Aigis deactivating her weapon. She flipped the lightswitch.

“Elizabeth?”

“I expected a more joyous response to my appearance, but I am happy to see the two of you again, regardless.” Her smile would have lit up the room if the light hadn’t done it first.

Minato normally slept clothed; sharing a room with Aigis meant not having much privacy. For all the good she was programmed to do, she didn’t quite understand the concept. This saved him from the same embarrassment Ren had gone through. Minato sat up in his bed and addressed the blue-clad attendant.

“I’m happy to see you, Elizabeth.” Minato wasn’t lying. Even at the ungodly hour of 4 a.m., Elizabeth was a welcome face. “I missed you.”

“I missed both of you,” Elizabeth said. “I’ve spent much of my time trying to free your soul.”

Nobody had told Minato about this, but then again, the Velvet Room attendants weren’t exactly well known for being forthcoming. 

“You mean, you were intentionally trying to break the seal?”

“Safely break the seal,” Aigis said. “You missed a lot in the time you were dead.”

“I can imagine.”

It should have been a joyous reunion, but Aigis instead launched into a full explanation of the time they had to travel into the television and a whole lot of other things that Minato, if he was being honest, didn’t understand at all.

Elizabeth found the zeal Aigis contained during the explanation humorous, thus the shadow weapon continued her diatribe uninterrupted except for the occasional chuckle. 

Once she finished, Minato only had one thought. “Like, I know that Sho guy wasn’t the best dude, but I get it.”

He received murderous looks from the two women.

===

Minako was having a wonderful dream. She’d long gotten used to sleeping alone but she really missed having another warm body in her bed. Sleeping was much easier when she had somebody to snuggle. Had it not been weird, she’d have taken Kasumi up on it the one time she offered, but she suspected the more mischievous Yoshizawa twin had ulterior motives.

She was nuzzling her face into a warm chest when she realized she was no longer asleep. Her eyes met a pair of bright yellow eyes.

She screamed.

“Minako! What the fuck!?” Minato came barrelling into the room with Aigis and Elizabeth not that far behind him. He flipped the light switch.

The man in Minako’s bed scrambled to his feet.

“My apologies, I was only trying to let her rest.” Theodore had been the warm body Minako thought she was dreaming of snuggling. She wasn’t  _ complaining _ , exactly. 

“So you climbed into bed with her-” Minato stopped. “Oh. Well, at least I’m not the only one that got woken up at…” he glares at Elizabeth. “4 a.m.”

“You already told me you were happy to see me, Minato,” Elizabeth said with a small grin.

“I can be both happy to see you and mad at you for waking me up at 4 a.m.,” Minato grumbled.

“Mm,” Minako wasn’t exactly awake yet. “‘M happy. Lights off, please…” she shoved Theodore back down and laid her head on his chest. “Sleep…” She started snoring softly.

“Good to see Minako is handling this well,” Minato said. Him and Aigis spent the rest of the morning catching up. He’d missed more than he realized.

===

“Holy fuck,” Rio shot awake when she noticed a giant nose and wide, bloodshot eyes sitting at her desk. 

Goro burst awake as well but Rio spoke before he could.

“Igor, it’s not that i don’t appreciate the visit but  _ what the fuck _ ?” She was sitting up in her bed. She’d only slept with a sheet covering her because unlike Ren, she preferred to sleep clothed with minimal blankets. Goro slept in pajama pants only because Tae made him. He preferred to sleep in jeans.

“My apologies, my youngest Trickster.” His grin was as unsettling as ever. “The Velvet Room is under attack from a source you know more about than I.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be all knowing?” Goro asked.

“That’s what I thought,” Rio agreed.

“Some things, above and below, cannot be determined by the fates. My knowledge is limited to that of destiny.”

“Okay.” Rio didn’t expect anything more. “What, exactly, do you want?”

“If existence is to survive this ordeal, it is your time to awaken to your full potential.”

Then he disappeared. Rio and Goro both fell back asleep more easily than they thought possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I miss golfing so much, but it's just too damn expensive to go. I'm awful at it. I'll either miss the ball, or hit it 350 yards, with no in between. It's quite funny to see, I've been told. The last couple times my friends and I have gone, they just get me a case of beer and let me drive the golf cart, which is more fun anyway. I don't know what that has to do with anything, but this chapter has a lot of golf in it, for some reason. 
> 
> I was always bothered by the fact that Madarame didn't have any other children besides Yusuke. It's implied that he has a bad hooker habit. I've been watching The Good Place a lot lately, that reminds me, and I really, really want a character with a bad cocaine habit. I just haven't come up with a good spot for it.
> 
> If anyone finds any issue with how I describe Yusuke's mother's issues, let me know. I researched a bit, but that doesn't mean I got it right. From what I can understand, unless a seizure causes spine damage, she won't be paralyzed permanently, but prolonged periods of temporary paralysis can leave legs too weak to hold her up. Hell, now that they have money, maybe she can go through physical therapy again. What riveting content for a fanfic.
> 
> That would be much funnier if there weren't a million hurt/comfort fics out there. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! I'm a bit behind on writing right now because I've not been getting weekends the last couple of weeks but I plan to catch back up in the next couple days. There will be another chapter on Friday, as well as a chapter of Covering the Phantom Thieves on Wednesday, assuming nothing catches on fire, which, with the way things have been going lately, something might catch on fire.


	45. Megidolaon

_ Tuesday, June 20, Morning _

Lavenza had never tasted such delicious food in her entire life.

Well, she was sure that would be a compliment she’d give if she’d ever tasted any food that wasn’t the curry Ren had served her. The ethereal world in which the Velvet Room resided didn’t necessitate any eating habits, so this was her first experience. He skipped giving her coffee, though. 

Ren assumed giving anything caffeinated to a being that wasn’t used to it would lead to something like Sojiro’s whole stock eating a Megidolan. He didn’t feel like explaining why all of the beans had gotten vaporized, so he gave Lavenza water, instead, which she was just as jazzed with.

“It is delicious, Trickster,” Lavenza said. “I cannot believe you just turn a switch and it appears! What other wonders have humans invented that I have no knowledge of?”

‘God, if she thinks a sink is impressive, wait til she sees the bathhouse.’ Ren didn’t know how long he’d have the pint sized attendant as a house guest, but he assumed it would be awhile. Igor wasn’t the type to act in a rash nature, so something major must truly be wrong. 

“How good are the odds that you’ll actually tell me why you had to flee?”

“I already told you why,” Lavenza replied flatly. “We needed to escape to a world where our aggressor held less power.”

“Who is your aggressor?”

“I do not know it’s name.” Lavenza said. “Nor do I know the nature of attacks. If Master requires us to leave, the danger must be grave.”

“But you guys leave all the time,” Ren said. “You, or, Justine and Caroline, I guess, would regularly wait for me at the door.”

“That was simply our way of reminding you of your commitments,” Lavenza said. She took another bite. Ren half expected her to speak with her mouth full but she kept her polite demeanor. “When you said this food was to die for, does that mean I’ll really die?”

“It’s an expression, Lavenza.”

“Oh.” She looked down. “I have always wondered if my purpose could be made clearer by death.”

“Did you really think I’d feed you something that would kill you?” Ren looked at her, perplexed. 

“I truly did not,” Lavenza took her last bite, then wiped her mouth with a napkin Ren had placed next to her plate. “I was merely hopeful.”

Ren was used to Lavenza freaking him out, or at least he  _ had _ been used to it, back in the days where he still cared about his own well being, but this was something new. She spoke again before he could come up with the proper words for a question.

“We are not meant to venture beyond the Velvet Room,” Lavenza said. “I once thought it a great crime to leave our home.”

“I mean, it took me becoming a criminal to leave my home,” Ren said. He hadn’t thought of home in a long time. ‘What was it called? Ina-something.’ He knew it started with ‘-in’ but he couldn’t remember what came after. “I can’t even remember where I’m from.”

“The adventure you have taken is far beyond what is required by your contract,” Lavenza said.

“Well, I’ve tried dying.” Ren chuckled. “It doesn’t do much.”

“I think,” Lavenza paused, as though she weren’t sure she would be allowed to tell him this much. “I think the reason the Velvet Room is no longer safe is intertwined with the reason you cannot exit this ordeal. I hope and pr-” Lavenza stopped. “What is it you humans do when you’re out of options?”

“Pray?”

“Yeah, that. Pray, that the solutions overlap.” Lavenza gave him a small smile. “Thank you for feeding me.”

Ren nodded. “Thanks for the existential crisis.”

He expected Sojiro to pop in the door sometime soon: It was nearly 7 a.m., when Sojiro normally came in to get started for the day but the door opened sooner than that. Lavenza was sitting at the counter still, reading through one of the books Sojiro kept in case a customer wanted something to read. His clientele were mostly older, so they weren’t always going to be carrying a fancy cell phone with them, and if they were, there wasn’t a guarantee they had any clue how to use it. 

Sojiro wasn’t the first person to LeBlanc that morning, however. Instead, a familiar red-headed, glasses-wearing gymnast knocked on the window to find her boyfriend washing dishes while a strange blonde girl wearing a blue dress read a book at the counter.

The knocking grew much louder.

“Trickster, I think the Faith is visiting,” Lavenza said without looking up from the book, a traveler’s guide to the area surrounding Seaside Park. 

Ren startled and quickly walked to the door to let his girlfriend into the cafe.

“Good morning, dear.” He leaned in to kiss her on the cheek, which she accepted, but she never took her glare off Lavenza. She didn’t respond to Ren’s greeting. 

Instead, she replied in a terse tone. “Who’s that?”

Ren couldn’t help but find Sumire’s jealous streak adorable. It was a shame they weren’t alone, and probably wouldn’t be alone again for the duration of Lavenza’s retreat. 

Lavenza stood up from the barstool and set down her book.

“Good morning,” she said, curtseying. “I am Lavenza. It is nice to finally meet you, representative of the Faith arcana.”

“Okay, Ren?” Her voice was at least slightly less angry sounding, which Ren took as a small victory. “Explain.”

“Have I ever told you about the man with the long nose?” Ren couldn’t recall telling Sumire, specifically, about the Velvet Room in more than minor references. “And his assistant?”

“It sounds vaguely familiar.” Sumire looked like she was trying to recall. “She’s a bit young for you.”

“It’s not like that.”

Sumire sighed. “I know it’s not. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, you’re adorable.”

“I concur, Trickster,” Lavenza gave a friendly smile. Ren hoped this would go a long way towards Lavenza endearing herself to Sumire. 

===

Rio woke up to her alarm clock and started searching the room, but the only other heartbeat was Goro. Thank god. 

He stirred awake a couple minutes later. Normally, Rio would have been in the kitchen preparing breakfast but she was a bit disoriented. It wasn’t that she slept poorly. In fact, she would say the opposite. After their midnight encounter with Igor, both roommates agreed they got a better night sleep than either of them had gotten in a long time. 

“I didn’t just dream about a man with a long nose, right?” Goro asked Rio within minutes of him waking up. They were now in the kitchen. Neither of them felt like cooking and Tae had already left for work: She was near having a cure for Miwa-chan so she was working every spare second she could. 

“Nope.” Rio looked into her cereal. “You did not.”

“You know anything about him?”

“I’ve met him before, if that’s what you mean.” Rio looked at Goro. “Don’t know anything about him, though. Something about mind and matter and reality and what not. There’s a lot of bullshit.”

“Ah.” Goro thought about it for a minute. “Think Ren will know more?”

“If he doesn’t, I’m giving up.” Rio laughed. “I can’t wake up to those crazy eyes staring at me again.”

Goro gave a concerned look back. “I’m mostly concerned with how he got into the room.” He looked over towards the door. “I checked the locks this morning and texted Tae. She said the doors were locked last night.”

Rio thought about just how little she knew of Igor. “He probably has his own ways of breaking into places. I don’t think we’re playing by the same rules.”

“That’s frightening.”

“No, what’s frightening is that there’s something out there that has him so spooked that he fled.”

Goro scratched his chin. “Any idea what it could be?”

“I don’t want to think about it. Today’s not the best time for an existential crisis.”

===

“Yu, honey,” Rise said in her sickeningly sweet, fake-happy-but-actually-about-to-commit-murder voice. “Why is that blue woman on our couch?”

Rise had woken up before Yu that morning so she could make it to the TV station for an interview on their morning show. She still had a little bit before she had to leave; she was ready way earlier than she would be on a normal day.

“Margaret,” the woman said. “My name is Margaret.”

“Right.” Rise gave her a hard look. “The last time I saw you, you kissed my boyfriend. In front of me.”

“I apologize, I-”

“Don’t even start!” Rise had been mad about this for longer than she was comfortable admitting. “I was 14! He was my first boyfriend!” Margaret looked wholly uncomfortable. “Then this beautiful woman just  _ makes out with him in front of me _ ? I still have nightmares about it!”

By then, Yu had appeared behind her, coming in on the tail end of her anger. 

“Rise,” Yu said. She jumped, not knowing he was there as he wrapped her in a hug from behind. “She wouldn’t be here without a good reason.” He looked at Margaret with an expression that said something between “Right?” and “You better have a good reason.” She read it perfectly.

“We were forced to evacuate the Velvet Room,” Margaret said somberly. “Also, thank you for calling me beautiful.”

Rise provided a frustrated series of curses.

Yu grabbed his phone and called work. He’d have to work from home today.

===

_ Morning _

Minako and Aigis stared at the two Velvet Room attendants sitting on the couch. They were happy, in a sense, to see them, but to just drop in when nobody expected was an issue.

“Can you tell us  _ anything _ about why you’re here?”

“Nope.” Theodore shook his head.

“Like, nothing at all?” Minako sighed. “You just show up on a random morning with zero explanation.”

“That is what happened.” Elizabeth said. “We didn’t know where else to go.”

“Theodore was  _ in my bed! _ ” Minako emphasized. “Aigis was in the other room! He could have gotten vaporized!”

“He wouldn’t have gotten vaporized,” Elizabeth said. “Although, I am concerned about why he was in your bed.”

“I erm-,” It was unusual, Aigis thought, to see a Velvet Room attendant stammer. “Thought my presence would be greatly appreciated.”

“Minako has seemed lonely,” Aigis agreed.

“Okay!” Minako wanted to cut this conversation off quickly. “My loneliness notwithstanding, I now have two ethereal beings and a shadow weapon to babysit.” She sighed. “And I was supposed to start work today.”

“You have a job?” Aigis asked in as surprised of a tone as she could manage.

“I’m supposed to be helping Sojiro at LeBlanc,” Minako said. “It’ll keep me busy.”

“I see no reason why we couldn’t accompany you,” Theodore said. “I am surely capable of helping.”

“You work at a restaurant that sells dog food?” Elizabeth asked, earning a death glare from Theodore and a chuckle from Minako.

Aigis didn’t quite get the joke until conversation had switched to a different topic. She then let out an awkward laugh that unsettled the rest of the room.

===

_ Lunchtime _

Junpei missed having lunch with Minato. Eating alone had gotten lonely, so he instead started taking walks to fill the hour between classes. It was probably a bit weird that a 16-year-old was spending so much time with his gym teacher anyway.

That was what he told himself, but on this day, he left the building to find Akio Kojima smoking a cigarette in the alley across the street. Junpei wanted to ignore it; enough of his friends smoked that he felt like a hypocrite going after a kid for it, but he didn’t want someone else to find him, either.   
“Kojima-kun,” Junpei called out. “What’re ya doing?”

He quickly dropped the cigarette and stomped it out. “Uh, nothin’, that’s what I’m doin’.”

“Sure, kid.” Junpei sighed. “That sure looked like nothin’. That stuff is bad for you.”

“I know…” Akio didn’t say anything beyond that, instead staring at the gym teacher, waiting for him to go away. “I don’t need the lecture. I’m trying to quit.”

“Well, if that’s tryin’, you’re failing,” Junpei said. “Give me the pack.” He held his hand out and Akio placed a full pack of cigarettes, minus one, in his hand. “Thank you.”

“Sure, teach.”

“Why you hangin’ out out here?” Surely this kid had some friends he could be hanging out with.

“Eh.” Akio paused. Did he really want to talk to this guy? “I scared off most my friends. I was in with Kaneshiro, dunno if you heard.”

“Ah. I can’t say I know much about that situation,” Junpei lied. He’d gotten the rundown from Kanji.

“Anyway, he was a bad dude, and I did some bad shit.” He reached into his pockets searching for cigarettes he now remembered were in Junpei’s possession. “Fuck.” He expected to be admonished but nothing came. “Anyway, I’m out. I’m just tryin’ to be a good student. It’s hard, though.”

“I get it, dude,” Junpei said. “It’s like, findin’ somewhere you belong and then it gets taken away from you. No matter the quality of people you’re around, that feeling still sucks.”

“I take it you’ve been there?”

“It’s how I ended up here.” Junpei didn’t initially want to be a teacher, but everyone else was leaving for school and he didn’t want to get left behind. “It’s a long story, Kojima-kun.”

Akio was about to reply when he noticed a familiar head of orange hair approaching the building.

“You know that guy?” He pointed Sugimura out to Junpei.

“No, but he looks like trouble.”

“He is,” Akio said. “That’s the guy Sakamoto beat the shit outta.”

A lightbulb went off in Junpei’s head and he took off to confront Sugimura before he could enter the school. Akio accompanied him.

“‘Scuse me, bud, can I help you with somethin’?” Junpei tried to act casual as he got between Sugimura and the school gate.

“I’m here to pick up my fiance,” the orange-haired man said. He was wearing a white three-piece suit that Akio recognized.

“You’re engaged to a high school-” Akio interrupted Junpei before he could finish.

“Do you own any other clothes?”

Sugimura turned up his nose. “I have no reason to answer such a question.”

“Well, we have no reason to let you into the school,” Akio said. “Wasn’t Sakamoto kicking your ass enough?”

“Sakamoto? That wasn’t-” Sugimura lost his train of thought. “Oh! That blond ruffian! He’s lucky I didn’t press charges.”

“You’ve been told to stay away, dude,” Junpei said. “You were trespassing. He was within his right to act.”

“He wasn’t even the one that acted-” Sugimura started to say but he stopped himself, thinking of his embarrassment at the hands of his fiance. 

“You meanin’ to tell me Okumura locked you up there?” Akio said, trying to hold in laughter. “Holy fuck, and you think you can intimidate Iori here?”

“Hey, Kojima-kun, let’s-”

“Seriously, Iori could take you with his hands tied behind his-”

“Kojima! I’m not fighting anyone,” Junpei said.

“Because you know better, isn’t that right?” Sugimura said. “One wrong move and I’ll have your job, your home, your whole life, all in the palm of my-”

Junpei had clenched his fists in anticipation of acting but Akio beat him to the literal punch.

Sugimura was crumpled on the ground.

“Sorry, coach,” Akio cracked his knuckles. “I’ve been a bit punchy for the last week or so. Someone stole away my outlet.”

“Uh, we should probably get Ushimaru. You… uh, just get to class.” Junpei sighed. “I’ll deal with this.”

===

_ Afternoon _

“I need you to open a case file on Shujin Academy immediately,” Kaida had barged into Sae’s office with zero notice.

“Sir, I don’t understand.” Sae truly didn’t. Well, she did, but she didn’t understand his reasoning.

“I have received word that Madarame’s son has submitted an application to start school next semester,” Kaida was ranting frantically. “At the same location as the first mental shutdown case!”

“That’s surely just a coincidence.”

“There are no coincidences!” Sae jumped back at his shouting, his white hairs standing on end. “As far as I’m concerned, Jiro Madarame is our number one suspect, and I need you to bring him in for questioning  _ immediately _ .”

Sae grumbled. “He’s currently trying to process his father’s confession and subsequent arrest. You’re out of line.”

“You know who tells me I’m out of line? The fucking Prime Minister.” He was no longer shouting. “You know who doesn’t get to tell me that? The bitch I hired to do her fucking job.” He got closer to Sae. She imagined if she were a man, he’d be grabbing her lapels. Instead, he was looking down on her like a predator. “Do you know what I do to bitches that don’t do their job?”

“I have a bit of an idea.”

“Good.” He leaned back and started heading towards the door. “That means I don’t have to explain myself.”

“Takuto Maruki.” Sae said.

He stopped and paled. His breath caught, and she definitely noticed. “I don’t recall that name.” He slammed the door and scrambled back to his office.

‘How the fuck does she know that name?’ He pulled a bottle of bourbon out of a locked drawer on the bottom right of his desk and poured himself a glass. He drank it quickly, far too quickly for a bottle of that caliber. He closed the drawer and thought about who he could call. He had a list, a ton of powerful people that he thought could handle the situation, but he had an ace in the hole he never thought he’d have to use. He dialed the number. A woman answered.

“Kirijo.”

“Kirijo-san, I need your help with one of my staffers.”

“Is it Sae Niijima?”

He gasped, not understanding how she could possibly know. “Yes. It is.”

“You’re best leaving her alone. Goodbye.”

Minutes later, in Sae’s office, she received a phone call on her personal cell phone. People normally knew better than to call her during work but lately, she’d been less militant on the ‘no personal calls’ policy she’d initially instated. 

“Is this Sae Niijima?” A womanly voice came through on the other end. 

“It is, yes. May I ask who’s calling?”

“This is Mitsuru Kirijo. I’m an acquaintance of your sister’s.”

Sae gasped. “I thought she was making fun of me when she told me that.”

“She may have also been making fun of you while telling the truth, honestly.” Mitsuru chuckled. “I have a position open on my legal team and you come with very strong recommendations.”

“I haven’t applied for anything…”

“This is a new position.”

“Does it have anything to do with the fight I just had with my boss?”

Mitsuru paused for a second. “You’re every bit as sharp as Naoto said. When can you get to Tatsumi Port Island for an interview?”

“That depends. Should I quit my job now?” Sae was oddly, hoping for her to say no.

“Kaida just tried to have me ruin your life, so I’d say yes.” 

“Ah. I’ll clean out my desk.” Sae started pulling personal items into a box she’d been saving for this occasion. She’d, luckily, transferred all of her important files into a portable hard drive, so that kind of work was already done. 

She was carrying the box and went and knocked on Kaida’s door.

“I quit.” He looked at her in shock. “Fuck you, and fuck this whole place. I hope it burns to the ground.”

Sae didn’t remember coming up with those words. It felt like they came from somewhere else.

===

_ After School _

“Amamiya-kun, can you come here for a minute?” Kawakami addressed Ren at the end of class. He approached the front of the room as the other students filed out.

“What’s up?” Ren had been cognizant of the fact that he hadn’t quite had time for Kawakami lately, but he wasn’t really in the mood for a visit from Becky. The visits weren’t necessary anymore, really. The Thieves had already taken care of Takase’s parents so Kawakami wasn’t getting the squeeze anymore. Ren didn’t even know if she was moonlighting anymore.

“I’m just checking in on you,” she said. “You haven’t called in awhile.”

Ren sighed. “Sorry, I’ve just been busy.”

“I understand,” she said. “I haven’t been working as much lately, anyway. I’m thinking of quitting.”

“Why?”

“I had a really awkward experience.” Kawakami sighed. “Do you remember Mishim-”

“Ren!” Keiko barged into Kawakami’s classroom.

“Miyahara-san! We were having a discussion!” Kawakami admonished but Keiko was on a mission.

“Sorry, Kawakami-sensei, this is more important.” The short newspaper editor grabbed Ren by the ear and dragged him out of the room and into the newspaper office and pushed him into her desk chair. It wheeled back and bumped into her computer desk, rattling the old metal desk. “Why were you at Madarame’s atelier?”

“What?”

“Ichiko Ohya.” Keiko said. “She told me there was a Shujin student, tall with black frizzy hair, claiming to be a maintenance man, the day before Madarame received a calling card from the Phantom Thieves.”

“I have no idea who that is and I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Ren said cooly. “And if you don’t have any evidence, I’d prefer you not just throw accusations around.”

“Okay, so you  _ get _ why that makes you sound like Kamoshida, right? Or Oyamada?” Keiko had called his bluff extremely well. He hadn’t expected her to know about Oyamada. “Kamoshida was after you more than anyone else. And you  _ made _ it your business the second you started here.”

“He went after me! Was I supposed to just turn the other cheek?” Ren tried to avoid raising his voice. 

“You were supposed to act like a scared kid, not an angered mafia boss!” Keiko was showing signs of frustration. “All those rumors when you started? You  _ didn’t _ help them. They only went away because literally  _ everything _ about this year has been fucking bonkers.”

“What do you want me to say?” Ren replied in a quiet, frustrated voice.

“Are you a Phantom Thief?”

“If I were a Phantom Thief, you’re the last person I’d tell.”

“I’m hurt that you don’t trust me.” Keiko was  _ legitimately _ hurt by that. She guessed they hadn’t been around each other that long, but she didn’t have many other friends. She looked down. “I won’t rat you out. I won’t even write about it.”

“You’d be stupid if you knew and didn’t write about it.” Ren said, smirking. He wanted to trust her and if she was in with Ohya, she was probably worthy of it. 

“Can you at least tell me what the fuck is going on?” Keiko’s tone softened. “Why were you at Madarame’s?”

“Shit.” Ren said, more to himself than to her. “What’s one more?”

“What?”

“We can talk. But not here.”

Keiko gave him an inspecting look. “When?”

“Tonight-” Ren started to say until he realized he’d have to find somewhere for Lavenza to go. Sojiro had offered to play host all day and Minako had brought Theodore and Elizabeth with her to work that day. That meant Sojiro was basically dealing with three Velvet Room attendants, a shadow weapon, and Minako all at once, for several hours. If he murdered Ren, it would be completely justified. “Or, erm. Maybe not tonight.”

“No. Tonight works.” She sighed. “Let’s get this over with.”

“Okay.” Ren decided he’d just have to find somewhere for Lavenza to go. Or maybe, just maybe, somebody had the foresight to get the attendants normal clothes. “Do you know Yongen-Jaya at all?”

“I live there, actually.” Keiko raised an eyebrow. 

“Huh? I didn’t realize there were any other kids around.” Ren had seen some younger kids around with the grandparents; Sojiro secretly loved it when people brought the little ones around. 

“I don’t exactly make myself known.” Ren couldn’t read her expression. 

“Anyway, meet me at LeBlanc later tonight. I’ll explain everything, and if a word of this leaves your mouth to anyone else, I’ll… I’ll just be really sad.” Keiko was shocked that Ren had a surprisingly effective puppy-dog-face.

“I expected a threat.”

“I’m so tired of threatening people.”

“You’ve been threatening people?” Keiko looked almost as afraid of him as she did that first month of school.

“Nobody that doesn’t suck, if that makes you feel any better.”

“I have low self esteem,” Keiko said. “That doesn’t make me feel any better.”

===

_ Evening _

“How was-,” Minato wasn’t even sure he wanted an answer to this question, but he‘d feel like a bigger asshole than usual if he didn’t ask. “How was your day?”

Minako was currently laying face down on the couch, a pillow in her face, screaming into the void. 

“I-I- assume it went well?”

She screamed again.

“Or not. Okay.” Minako didn't take up all that much room on the couch, leaving a small space for Minato to sit on the edge. He sat next to her and rubbed her back. He remembered their mother doing something similar when they were despondent as children.

Minako’s breathing slowed, and she stopped screaming as long as Minato remained silent. They’d been holding the position for a while when she finally spoke.

“Sojiro is a literal saint.” Minako sat up and looked at her brother. “He didn’t once lose patience.”

“That seems on brand,” Minato said. “Nothing really bothers that guy, does it?”

“I’m jealous.” Minako sighed. “Maybe it’ll rub off on me.”

“What happened, exactly?” Minato almost didn’t want to know.

“Sojiro’s got this regular that’s pretty problematic.” She rubbed her cheek, which was bright red from where it was resting while she was laying on her stomach. “He’s not a bad person in the evil sense, just in the regular everyday sense. He definitely has a habit of overstaying his welcome.”

“What happened?”   
“Theodore happened.” Minako sighed and laughed. “This guy is a real know it all and Theodore is a literal know it all.”

“You’re being vague.”

“Well, I had to stop Theodore from casting a megidolaon after the man said something particularly sexist.”

“What’d he say?”

“I don’t remember. I was busy working, but Sojiro agreed with Theodore that he was out of line.”

“Where was Elizabeth in all this?”

“She’s-” Minako grunted in frustration. “She was egging Theodore on.”

“That’s… not out of character for her.”

“Nope. Sojiro has no idea how close he was to having his cafe exploded.”

===

Ren stuffed Lavenza upstairs with a controller in her hands and told her to stay there until he came and got her. He didn’t want to explain to Keiko that he was harboring a child, so he plopped her in front of Panel de Pon in hopes that it would waste as much of her time as it had his. 

The bell downstairs chimed and he scrambled downstairs to hear Sojiro greet Keiko.

“Welcome,” he said as she took a seat at the counter. “You here for coffee or the kid?”

“Both, probably. Is Ren here?” She almost sounded respectful when speaking to Sojiro. 

“Right here,” he said. “I’ll get hers, Boss.”

Sojiro nodded and went back to doing his crossword puzzle. 

“Got a preference?”

“Something that’ll keep me awake for the next six hours.”

“It’s 7 o’clock,” Ren said in a flat tone.

“I know what I said.” Keiko thumbed through the books on the small shelf while Ren made her a cup. “It’s weird. I’ve lived here for a few years now, and I never once tried the coffee here.”

“I like to keep it quiet,” Sojiro said. “I’ve got enough regulars that I make just enough to stay open.”

“I can respect that,” Keiko said. “I think that’s the dream. Get to a point where you only have to do the work you want to do? Sign me up.”

“Says the girl that spends literally  _ all _ of her time on a job that doesn’t pay,” Ren teased.

“What part of ‘work you want to do’ do you not understand?” Keiko shot back.

Sojiro laughed. “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life. I’m going to lock up for the night. You two, don’t do anything stupid.”

“When have I  _ ever _ done anything stupid?”

Sojiro looked like he had a retort but he didn’t say anything. “Have a goodnight, kid.”

He walked to the front door, flipped the sign and closed the door, locking it.

“He seems nice,” Keiko said. “Very simple.”

“Boss is pretty laid back, most of the time.” Ren had set a cup of coffee in front of her. “He keeps his head down.”

“He seen some shit?”

“You’ll have to ask him about it, some day,” Ren looked off into space. “Once all this is over.”

“All this?”

“Sorry, that wasn’t really meant for you.” He jumped a little, like he was coming back to reality. “Things have been pretty fucked up for a long time.”

Keiko nodded. “I’ve gotten that impression. Sometimes, it’s like you’re an old man.” She chuckled. “You’re almost as bitter as I am.”

“Almost,” Ren said. “You’re a special brand of bitter.”

“I aim to please.” She took a sip of her coffee. “This is incredible.”

“That’s usually the reaction I get,” Ren said. “It’s my most valuable skill.”

“A damn good skill to have. No wonder you’ve got that first-year eating out of the palm of your hand.”

“Oh, I’m pretty sure that’s mutual,” Ren said fondly. “She’s gotten quite good at dealing with my bullshit.” He recalled just this morning, when he nearly had to stop his girlfriend from starting a fight with Lavenza. “Want to hear something funny?”

“Sure.”

“Sumire tried to fight Mitsuru Kirijo.”

Keiko laughed like it was the funniest thing she’d ever heard. “Sure, okay.” She said sarcastically. 

But Ren looked at her with sincerity. “I’m serious. The last time Kirijo-san visited, me and her got into a little argument.”

“No part of that story is believable.” Keiko glared, not laughing. “You expect me to believe that you know Kirijo, that you know her well enough to have a good natured argument with her,  _ and _ that your girlfriend, the shy first-year that wouldn’t hurt a fly, tried to  _ fight _ her?”

“That’s exactly what happened.”

“Okay, at least I know this was a waste of my time.” Keiko huffed. “You’re just a bullshitter. There’s no way you’re a Phantom Thief.”

“Funny, about that.”

“Don’t even bother. I don’t believe you-” there was a loud crash from upstairs and Ren bolted from behind the counter and up the stairs. Keiko followed.

Ren’s room looked like a warzone, his TV exploded into little pieces. An innocent looking girl in a blue dress stared at her Trickster and Keiko, wide-eyed.

“The dragon cheated, Trickster,” her eyes downturned. “I’m sorry.”

Ren smacked his own forehead. “Great. Now I need a new TV.”

Keiko just stared, dumbfounded.

“Okay. Maybe you aren’t full of shit.”

“Nope.”

“I’m, uh, going to go home and deal with an existential crisis.” She backed up and started heading down the stairs. Ren followed.

“Yeah, Lavenza’s good at causing those.”

They said their goodbyes and Ren locked the door, returning to his room to clean up the mess Lavenza made.

“Sorry, Trickster,” Lavenza said, some concern in her voice. 

“Eh. Who doesn’t know at this point?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last scene of this chapter requires a Jim Halpert-style awkward glance at the camera from Ren.
> 
> I've been going back and reading the story, which is a big step forward for me, because I almost never go back and read things I've written. I have added some little things to scenes back near the beginning through chapter 13 so far. I've also fixed some typos. But I'm still shocked at how much I don't hate my writing. This might be the first time I haven't gotten major anxiety over it. It's great. 
> 
> Updates are probably going to have to slow down a ton here soon. The new area I'm covering for work is much, much busier and takes up so much more time. It's more fun and definitely a more positive community, so it's been great. It's just busier and doesn't allow me as much time to work on this. My goal is still to update every Monday and Friday, but I don't think I'll have a chapter ready by Monday. If I do? Great. If I don't? Sorry. I had up through chapter 48 written at one point, but I've scrapped everything after rereading earlier in the story. 
> 
> I think anyone who's been reading will love the different ideas I'm going with. The outline for the story has largely remained the same, but I think the ideas I've had for scenes and the little in between things are more original than I initially had written.


	46. Who Said We Can't?

_ Wednesday, June 21, Morning _

They must’ve gotten Takuto home at some point but he had no memory of moving. Last time he knew, he was in a doctor’s office presumably somewhere near LeBlanc. He’d seen that doctor at the cafe previously, ‘and somewhere else,’ he thought, so he assumed she was a friend of the Phantom Thieves. 

He woke up in his own apartment laying in his own bed, with nobody else around. He was alone, as he knew he deserved to be. 

He thought by succumbing to Shido’s will, he’d be taking one for the team, allowing Wakaba to continue her research and buying Kirijo time to come up with a solution to handle those wishing to take advantage of the metaverse. Instead, he became Shido’s greatest weapon and lost his autonomy in the process.

Maruki didn’t realize how much sway Shido held until he was in too deep. Unfortunately, the first stand he took cost a young girl her life. 

“Aiyumi Nakagawa,” Maruki said. His voice echoed in the empty room. He wouldn’t forget that name. Officer hazing wasn’t a new problem but it wasn’t something normally on Maruki’s radar. He couldn’t have possibly cared any less about the inner workings of a police department, so when Shido asked him to work his magic on an intern not much younger than himself, Maruki balked. 

“What could she have possibly done?” Asking this question was a mistake. Arguing even further led to something even more grave. “Is her behavior truly that detrimental to law enforcement’s duties?”

Maruki never got the full story. He only got the briefest of explanations saying that “she is a problem,” and that he’s not where he is to ask questions. He never did act against the young woman. He definitely thought about it. Shido could be quite intimidating, but Maruki couldn’t bring himself to do it. 

Shido eventually lost patience and Maruki heard news of that same young woman he was meant to “kill” days prior on TV.

“Aiyumi Nakagawa,” the newscaster said, “an intern with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, was found dead in her apartment by two presumably self-inflicted gunshot wounds.”

He remembered exactly where he was the second he heard it. Rumi had come over to make dinner. Neither of them made very much money, so their dates often consisted of cooking together and enjoying each other’s company. She had dropped off a record player at one point, because she preferred the sound of analog over digital. They’d gotten quite the collection of western records. Rumi had an old fashioned country and western obsession that Takuto never understood. An old Statler Brothers tune was playing in the background, “Bed of Roses,” she called it. It was a song about a young man bedding an older owner of a burlesque house.

It was a sad-and-slow song with some of the goofiest lyrics imaginable.

Takuto couldn’t listen to it anymore.

Most of the items and sounds involved in that night were now things he avoided. The record player collected dust. He rarely cooked anymore. Rumi’s favorite chair hadn’t been sat in by anyone since she went away.

He didn’t blame Aiyumi Nakagawa, or Shido, for the squalor he now lived in. If anyone was at fault, it was Rumi, for leaving. He wasn’t mad that she left. He was mad at himself for creating the situation that required her departure. 

He was mad at himself for not actualizing Aiyumi. It would have been so simple. She would have been happy. Now she was dead, and nothing could be done about it. He told himself that actualization could be undone if the person decided they weren’t happy, not that anyone could be unhappy in such a world. He was positive her death was not a suicide.

He pushed any second thoughts to the back of his mind and fell back asleep, wishing he wasn’t having to sleep alone. He missed the warmth Rumi brought to his bed, and the color she brought to his life. 

===

**Ren:** We should get moving on Maruki’s palace

**Naoto:** CANT

**Ren:** WHY

**Naoto:** DANGEROUS. TAKUTO IS VERY ILL

**Ren:** DOESNT THAT MEAN THE SHADOWS WILL BE SLEEPING?

**Naoto:** WE DONT KNOW. COULD KILL HIM

**Ren:** THATS BAD WHY

**Naoto:** WE AREN’T KILLERS

**Ren:** TRUE

**Naoto:** ARE YOU MOCKING ME

**Ren:** why, I would never

That plan went out the window, then. Ren really wanted to get some practical experience for his newest recruits. He couldn’t believe he’d had four new members for literal weeks, and they still had zero experience. On the metaverse side of things, everything had slowed down. The Investigation Team taking care of Kaneshiro made their lives a whole lot easier.

Lavenza destroying his TV and outing him to Keiko was making his life a whole lot harder. 

“Trickster, I promise, it was an accident.” She had been apologizing profusely. 

“Make it up to me by behaving for Sojiro today,” Ren said while getting ready for school. “Help him out and help keep your siblings in line. We can’t have Theodore almost murder a regular again.”

“While Theodore’s actions are regrettable, I believe the man he threatened had ‘earned it,’ as you would say,” Lavenza said.

“You’re completely right, but that’s not how we do things here,” Ren said. “Actually, it’s not how we  _ usually _ do things here.” It would be hypocritical for any of the Phantom Thieves to act like they didn’t behave violently on occasion. Kamoshida face down on the floor was on Ren’s mind, and Sugimura’s battered face was just the most recent act of violence perpetrated by a Phantom Thief.

Or at least a partial Thief. Haru was getting annexed into his plans whether she knew it or not. 

“I shall behave and listen to everything Boss says,” Lavenza bowed. She had a sad look on her face.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m worried about our master.” Lavenza often said she preferred to stand but she was sitting on the couch, currently. “I am concerned he has yet to find a suitable temporary Velvet Room.”

“I mean, there really aren’t many places on earth that are similar to the Velvet Room.” Ren tried to think of any office space around Tokyo that was available. They could probably get Kirijo to do something about Igor’s problem, except he wasn’t comfortable with the amount of times they’d had to count on Mitsuru. 

===

_ During what should be class… _

Keiko convinced herself that watching a child blow up a television was as good of an excuse as any to break 11 years of perfect attendance, which also had the side effect of absolving her parents of her seething rage. ‘Of  _ course _ they wouldn’t wake me up in time for school,’ she thought. She’d never needed them to wake her up before.

She had been the kind of person to wake up ten minutes before her alarm her entire life. Before she started school, she’d wake up minutes before her own mother’s alarm. It was the only time in her mother’s life that she’d kept a job longer than a year: She would normally get fired after weeks of showing up late everyday. Keiko’s father had the same problem. They were truly a match made in heaven, much to Keiko’s chagrin. Keiko couldn’t believe someone so irresponsible could come from her grandparents, two successful, driven and responsible people who’d been Keiko’s inspiration for her own career.

Her bed felt really nice that morning. It was a nice escape from the dread she felt after watching a small child display some kind of supernatural power that caused a god damn, motherfucking television to just fucking explode. Every time Keiko successfully distracted herself, her brain went back to it. She couldn’t, and wouldn’t get over it. ‘Couldn’t Ren have given me some kind of proof that  _ wasn’t going to send me spiraling into despair _ ?’ That wasn’t fair, she knew. Ren had very obviously not intended for her to see whoever the little girl was.

Why did Amamiya have a small blond child playing video games in his bedroom?

‘Fuck.’ Keiko found herself swearing more than usual, which was a surprise. She already had a penchant for swearing more than the average teenager. It came with the self-appointed job. 

It was nearly 11 a.m. by the time Keiko decided her bed was no longer the place she wanted to spend her day. Most people would have avoided the source of their misery on a day like today.

Keiko normally prided herself in her ability to run towards dangerous situations and provide the best account she could. This time? She ran directly toward the situation knowing it could end in her death. Ren would be at school.

The girl who blew up the TV? Where would he send her while he was at school? Was she in school, as well? Should her school be notified that she has the ability to blow things up on a whim?

It was up to her to find out. She made her way over to LeBlanc, against her better judgment and against every part of her being shouting at her to return home to safety.

Yongen-Jaya was almost pretty that morning. Nobody had ever called it that before, Keiko thought, but the sun was shining just the right way on the grey stone buildings that the neighborhood was lit up without being blinding. It had an old-school downtown feel that she wasn’t used to. She always assumed the neighborhood was thrown together with zero planning but during the middle of the day, it was almost like there was something in place to make it look nice. 

She’d have to skip school more often. Even the second-hand shop, a normal busy stop during the day, was pretty slow. The old man who ran the store had just put out new-to-him merchandise, so of course Keiko had to buy  _ something _ . She ended up walking out with a bunch of clothes she didn’t need because she only had one day a week to dress like a normal person.

‘Oh well,’ Keiko thought. She’d bought a pair of old school sneakers that she could probably wear to school without breaking the dress code.

Keiko decided she couldn’t put off her trip to LeBlanc any longer and made her way there. The bell chimed and she walked in to find a surprisingly full cafe with a remarkably beautiful woman behind the counter. 

‘That’s new,’ Keiko thought. 

“Welcome!” The auburn-haired woman said. “Take a seat wherever and I’ll be right with you.”

Keiko took a seat at the counter, next to a broad, muscular blond man wearing blue. She looked around the room, noticing the little girl from yesterday and another blonde woman she didn’t recognize sharing a booth. She looked to be around the same age as the woman behind the counter. “Was there some kind of sale at the store on blondes?”

The woman behind the counter chuckled. “Nah, nobody in their right mind would buy these morons.”

“That’s insulting,” the man in blue said. He took greater offense to it than Keiko assumed the barista intended. The other two blue clad blondes didn’t seem to be paying attention. The one who had blown up the TV the previous day had a laptop in front of her that she seemed much less frustrated with than she had with the TV she’d blown up yesterday.

The girl noticed her staring and spoke up. “The Trickster noticed my frustration and decided I should play something more relaxing.”

The barista laughed. “His solution was giving her Prison.” 

“Isn’t she a little young for that?” Keiko said, laughing. She’d lost many hours to that particular game.

“I thought the same thing, but he kept telling me how funny it was.” The barista eyed Keiko suspiciously. “Shouldn’t you be in school?”

“Probably.” Keiko shrugged. “Didn’t feel like going. I’ve been having a bit of a rough morning. I watched  _ someone _ blow up a TV last night.”

The barista laughed really hard; ‘uncomfortably hard,’ Keiko thought. She just stared at the barista, who’s laughing slowed then stopped.

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly. “I’m Minako. You a friend of Ren’s?”

“I think ‘friend’ is too strong of a word, but he helps me out sometimes,” Keiko said. 

“He’s got a ‘helping people’ problem.” Minako must not have known her way around coffee very well because she was struggling with the percolator. She did eventually steady her hands and get it right, though. “‘Spose I used to be that way, too.”

“He’s at least as nosey as I am.” Keiko couldn’t believe how quickly he tore down the walls she’d built around the newspaper. It was her baby, and now she wasn’t doing it alone. “He wouldn’t let me not be his friend.”

“Sounds about right.” Minako gave a thoughtful look around the room. 

“Where’s the old timer?” 

“Ah. He left me in charge, for some reason,” Minako said. “I don’t know if you can’t tell, but I have no idea what I’m doing.”

Keiko pondered for a minute. “He doesn’t seem the type to just leave a novice in charge. Think something happened?”

“I think he’s on a date.”

Keiko performed a spit take; luckily she was able to limit the amount of coffee that left her mouth. “The old man really does get after it, then,” she said, laughing. 

Minako laughed, too. “He’s trying to schedule his dates around when the kids aren’t around, I’m pretty sure. I don’t think he can handle Ren busting his balls any more about his girlfriend.”

Keiko frowned. “Didn’t realize he was  _ that _ type of guy.”

“Who, Boss or Ren?”

“The old guy! Why’s he hiding his girlfriend?”

“Uh, I think he’s got a pretty good reason, but I get what you’re saying.” Minako had been on that side of it before, the girlfriend that had to be hidden from the person’s family for whatever reason. “I’m pretty sure it was Fu-chan’s idea to keep that on the DL, though.”

“Oh.” Keiko fiddled with a loose strand of hair for a minute. “It goes both ways, though. Don’t people deserve someone who cares openly?

“Preachin’ to the choir. Doesn’t really qualify here, though.”

Keiko and Minako carried on for a while, talking about a million different things but mostly just bonding over the presence of the odd blond people they were ignoring.

The two were broken out of their conversation when the blonde girl that had blown up the TV closed the laptop, thoroughly satisfied with the prison she’d been running. She stood up, exited the booth, and tapped Keiko on the shoulder. 

“It has been brought to my attention that what you walked in on yesterday was not a normal thing for humans to see,” the girl in blue bowed. “I am very sorry for any trauma I have caused.”

“Huh.” Minako made a noise. “My brother died and they never apologized to me.”

Theodore scoffed. “You’re the one that signed the contract.”

“Contract?” Keiko thought about it for a second. ‘Can I file a records request with these- no, there’s no way that’ll work.’ She looked to Minako. “My condolences on your brother.”

“Don’t need ‘em, he’s still a pain in the ass.” 

Keiko gave her a hard look. “That’s an awful way to speak of the dead.”

“Oh, wait.” Minako stammered. “He’s not dead now.”

“Is your brother Jesus?” Keiko thought she was making a funny joke.

Minako chuckled. “No, but his ex and I joke about that all the fucking time.”

“You expect me to just believe you that your brother has been resurrected.”

“I mean, you did watch a grade school aged-” she was stopped by an angry Lavenza.

“I’m not a child!” Lavenza interrupted.

“I know, Lavenza.” Minako continued. “You did watch someone that  _ looks like _ a child blow up a TV. Are you really going to be concerned with things making sense?”

“Ya know, I was going to thank you for helping me exit this weird spiralling existential crisis I’ve been having since last night, but I think you’ve made it worse.”

“You’ll have that.” Minako gave a friendly smile, like she wasn’t making Keiko miserable.

Keiko was about to get up and leave when it hit her that she knew Minako’s brother.

“That transfer is your brother?”

“My twin, actually.”

“But he’s like, way younger,” Keiko was trying to work it out in her head. Unless there’s a different meaning of the word twins in other parts of Japan, she was pretty sure they couldn’t be twins.

“That’s only kind of true.”

“Am I going to get answers?”

“I don’t know, ask Elizabeth.” Against her better judgment Keiko looked to the older blonde woman for answers.

“Huh?” She looked up from her book. 

“Are Minako and Minato twins?”

She just smiled and said, “that is for you to find out.”

Minako started laughing at Keiko’s annoyed look. “Sorry, these guys refuse to answer any questions.” Then she laughed harder. “Oh! You’re a reporter. That makes it even funnier.”

“Can they do to me what Lavenza did to the TV, please?”

“Hey, embracing death is one way to get a Persona.”

“I’m going to transfer to a new school in a smaller town where nobody is crazy.”

“Ah, remember the Foggy Day murders?” Minako had a wolfish, antagonistic grin on her face.

Keiko knew exactly what Minako was getting at. “I just wanted to know about the Phantom Thieves! I wasn’t even going to write about it!”

“You know what they say, in for a penny…” Minako said. 

“So, how many of you  _ are there _ , exactly?”

“Just the Phantom Thieves? 12, last I counted,” then Minako started counting on her fingers. “Holy shit, there’s 15 of us.”

“Christ! How have you managed to keep a secret?”

“That’s the thing, we’ve actually been terrible at it,” Minako laughed. “You must really suck at your job. All it really takes to find it is getting particularly close with Ren. The only one of them that doesn’t just talk about it is Ryuji.”

“Sakamoto’s one of them?”

“Oh. I really shouldn’t be giving away identities.” Keiko asked a million questions after she realized just how prominent the Phantom Thieves were at Shujin. She hadn’t realized how many students were involved. Sadly, she only got a few answers.

She also got laughed at, a lot, by the girl who had earlier apologized.

“I can appreciate your intense need to know,” Lavenza said. “Perhaps the Trickster will provide the information you seek at a later time.”

“Why do you call him the Trickster?”

Minako laughed. “Yeah, like she’s going to answer a question.”

To Minako’s shock, Lavenza actually provided an answer.

Keiko left, feeling both better and worse than she had when she arrived.

Elizabeth had set her book down again after Keiko left. 

“Did you really need to mess with her like that?” The question was directed at both Minako and Lavenza.

“I’m making friends, dear sister,” Lavenza said. She had a happy smile on her face.

===

_ After School _

Ren had been waiting at Shibuya station for the rest of the thieves, minus Minako, Sumire and Kasumi, who had practice they couldn’t get out of and Tae, who said she was a few steps away from having a cure for Miwa-chan. He was the first one there but Ryuji, Makoto and Goro walked up soon after. Ann and Shiho arrived next, then Yuuki and Yusuke, who had a further trip to Shibuya station than the rest of the Thieves.

He grumbled when he saw Minato, Kana and Rio arrive, but they weren’t the targets of his anger.

“Kat.” Ren’s glare would have worked on everyone else, but Kat was just too aloof to care.

“Huh?” She had been leaning down, playing with a Shiba Inu puppy she’d brought with her. It was leashed but very hyper and happy. It nipped at Ren’s ankles in between Kat grabbing at its snout.

He jumped on Ren, leaning his pause against the leader of the Phantom Thieves’ plaid trousers. He leaned down to pet the dog, who happily accepted the affection.

“Not that he’s not adorable,” Ren paused. “But why did you bring your dog?” The little golden-furred puppy definitely knew he was cute, too. He started pouting when he sensed that Ren wasn’t happy to see him.

“Mom had to work.” She gave a frustrated sigh. “If we leave him alone, he shits everywhere and mom said I’ll have to pay to have the carpet cleaned.”

“You do have a job, though,” Kana said. “You can afford it.”

“I don’t want to pay to have the carpet cleaned again,” Kat said. “I’ve already had to like, four times.”

“Does he really shit in the house  _ that _ much?” Minato said, laughing. “We never had that trouble with Koromaru. He was older when we got him, though.”

“Guys!” Ren broke up the conversation. “We can’t take a dog into the Metaverse.”

“Who said we can’t? We take Morgana in,” Futaba said. 

“Actually,” Minato said. “Koromaru has a Persona.”

“Don’t lie to me, dude.” Kat said. “That would be dope.”

“It used fire attacks,” Minato said. “Koromaru is the unofficial SEES mascot.”

“Oh.” Ren said, and thought a little further. “I thought that was Aigis.”

“Aigis isn’t a mascot, you horse’s ass!” Apparently, that was a sore spot for Minato. 

“What’s the pup’s name?” Ren asked.

“Akira!” Kat said. “And he loves people, and playing tug of war, and…” she would have rambled on forever if Ren hadn’t stopped her.

“Regardless, we’re dropping Akira off with Iwai,” Ren said. “No matter how cute he is.”

“You’re a real buzzkill, dude.”

Ren and Kat crossed over Shibuya Crossing towards Central Street and headed to the back alley store. Kat opted to go in alone to talk to Iwai and given Kaoru was in helping out his dad today, Akira was a happy addition to their afternoon. She also picked up more product while she was there. ‘We gotta find out if this stuff works in the metaverse some time, right?’

When she exited the store, Ren was staring at a spot in the corner where the alley turned towards Iwai.

“Dude?” She grabbed Ren’s shoulder. Seconds later, he snapped out of whatever trance he was in. 

He jumped back. “Holy fuck.”

“You okay, dude?”

“Um. No Mementos trip today.” His heart was racing. “I’m going to need to talk to everyone before we move forward.”

“Dude, I gotta learn what I’m doing at some point,” Kat said. 

“I think if we go to Mementos today, we’re all going to die.”

“Oh. Does that mean I should grab Akira?”

“Yeah. Let’s all go back to LeBlanc.”

They went back to the group and Akira led them back via train to LeBlanc.

**Ren:** You guys should head to LeBlanc after practice

**Minako:** something happen in mementos?

**Ren:** No. Fake velvet room

**Minako:** the one you were specifically told to stay out of 

**Ren:** like you could have stopped yourself from looking

**Minako:** i wasn’t asked to not look

**Minako:** you should have asked me to look

**Ren:** we both know that explanation won’t work

**Minako:** what did you even find

**Ren:** I’ll tell you when we get to LeBlanc

Ren sent off another text to Dr. Takemi, who said she was wrapping up for the day anyway. Everyone made it to LeBlanc on time.

===

_ Evening _

Keiko found herself back at LeBlanc later that day right before closing because she had literally nothing else to do. She wasn’t exactly friends with anyone besides Ren and he wasn’t the type she’d rely on to pick up her homework for her. She didn’t even know if he knew what class she was in.

LeBlanc was livelier than Sojiro was comfortable with. That was apparent by the sweat on the man’s forehead and the rambunctious argument taking place between Theodore and Lavenza. It probably didn’t help that there was a short old man, balding with hair still on the sides and a massive nose sitting at the end of the bar chuckling lightly whenever Elizabeth said something to egg the two on.

“This is like getting dinner and a show,” Keiko told Sojiro. “How was the date?”

“God-” He stammered in frustration. “Minako wasn’t supposed to tell anyone.”

“Who am I gonna tell?”

“The kid, probably.”

“Oh, I don’t think he’s too concerned with anything I have to say at the moment,” Keiko said. “He probably thinks I’m in the process of short circuiting.”

“He wouldn’t-”

“No, he’d be completely right.” Keiko’s laugh was strained. “I’ve lost my fucking mind.” The door swung open as Kat walked in, followed by her puppy and a literal army of Phantom Thieves. “See? Like, right now is a great example. The cafe is being stormed by like, half my school.”

“Uh, kid?” Sojiro laughed. “You’re not nuts. That’s, uh, well, this happens a lot.”

Akira jumped up on Keiko’s lap and started licking her face. She started to make a face but she couldn’t keep from laughing.

“Akira, you little shit!” Kat ran over and scooped the small dog up. “I’m sorry. We need to get him to stop that. He won’t be this tiny forever.”

“Don’t apologize. If I die by getting licked to death, I’ll have died happy.”

“Weird, I told Ann the same thing!” 

“Shiho!”

Sojiro cleared his throat. “That’s inappropriate.”

“From the guy that took a couple hours out of his day to pork some poor person’s grandmother,” Keiko said with a giggle.

“He did what-” Rio nearly jumped across the bar but Kana held her back.

“Good start to the meeting, guys.” Ren just shook his head, grasping the bridge of his nose. He looked at Keiko. “You cut school to scope out where I live!?”

“I was hungry!” Keiko defended herself. “I just wanted coffee and curry.”

“So, are we kicking Keiko out?” Ryuji ended the brief silence.

“I won’t squeal.” Ren rolled his eyes at Keiko. “What?” She shrugged. “Snitches get stitches.”

“Honestly? I don’t give a fuck what you hear.” Ren sighed. “The whole world knows anyway.”

Keiko took note of all the Shujin students in the room. “Fucking Niijima is a Phantom Thief? I’ve definitely lost my mind.”

Ren ignored her and addressed the Velvet Room attendants. “Can you explain why the Reaper is just chilling in the fake Velvet Room?”

===

Sae wanted to drive to Iwatodai but Kirijo-san insisted she took the train. “It’s faster and you don’t have to pay for it.” That’s what she’d been told. She’d also been told there was a hell of a view for most of the ride and that was absolutely true. It was dark out, so she couldn’t see the bright blue water she’d been told about but she could see bits and pieces of the skyline, and even at night, the man-made Tatsumi Port Island was a marvel.

She wished she had time to explore, but Kirijo scheduled an interview first thing in the morning. Sae had a couple hours tonight to relax and unwind. 

The train pulled into the station, where a brown-haired woman she hadn’t met previously waited for her with two little ones, a boy and a girl around four years old. 

“Are you Niijima-san?”

“I am.”

“Great! They told me you had the same color hair as my husband.”

“Huh. It’s a good thing Narukami didn’t come then,” Sae chuckled. 

“Well, I knew I was waiting for a woman… and now I’m imagining Narukami in a dress.”

“I don’t know him that well, but I’d be shocked to find out he  _ hasn’t _ worn a dress before.”

“Uh-” the woman laughed. “I didn’t introduce myself. Chihiro. Akihiko’s my husband. He was supposed to meet you but he’s-”

“Probably either training or picking up extra hours at work. Naoto warned me.”

“He’s got a narrow focus,” Chihiro said thoughtfully. “I’m supposed to take you to your place for the next few days.”

“We get to go to Aunt Minako’s house!” The little boy yelled. He pointed to his eye. It was a combination of deep blue, purple and black. “Chiyo got mad at me.” 

“Okay, Ichi. Thank you for explaining your black eye,” Chihiro laughed. “I thought you’d think I gave it to him.”

Sae laughed awkwardly. “I’m not used to being around children. I didn’t even notice.”

They got into a vehicle and Chihiro drove them to a mid-sized home just before the bridge on the mainland that headed to Tatsumi Port Island.

“Sae-san, why do you always look angry?” The girl, Chiyo, asked her.

“Chiyo!” Chihiro said from the front seat. “I am  _ so _ sorry-”

“No, no, It’s a valid question.” Sae sighed. “Up until yesterday, I was a prosecutor. Do you know what that is?”

The little girl shook her head, her long brown hair hitting her brother in the face.

“Hey-!” Ichi grabbed a handful and pulled. Chiyo swung an elbow at her brother and missed, hitting the back of the car’s seat.

“Prosecutor?” The little girl gave Sae a look. “Aunt Aigis has those.”

Sae returned a confused look, then realized Chiyo got it confused with something else.

“That’s prosthetics, dear,” Chihiro said from the front seat. “A prosecutor is someone who makes sure bad guys go to jail.”

Sae gave a frustrated sigh. “That’s what it’s supposed to be.” 

The house was pretty, Sae thought, and far beyond what she assumed Minako could afford. She didn’t know what Minako’s day job was back in Iwatodai but the woman was too- bubbly? Spontaneous? Something like that- to hold down a job for too long. She imagined Minako was the type that lived for whatever it was the Phantom Thieves did and not much else.

“Okay, this is the place,” Chihiro said. “We’ll head out and let you get acclimated. If you’re hungry, there’s food in the fridge. It’s been restocked since Minako left, so it’s not spoiled.” She laughed. “It was probably spoiled before Minako left. She’s not a good cook.”

“I don’t imagine she has the attention span to cook.”

Sae unloaded her suitcase out of the car and entered the home. It was very sparse and  _ very _ Minako. The walls were bright blue with white trim in the kitchen, which was in one big room with the living room. There were two bedrooms and a bathroom that followed a similar pattern. Bright colors on the walls but the windows all had blackout curtains. Minako must like her sleep.

Sleep sounded good. Sae decided she’d shower, then she’d do that. Tomorrow was going to be a long day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lied about missing Monday. I should be all caught up because it rained literally all weekend and I couldn't get any of the fun, real life things done that I wanted to get done. 
> 
> I don't normally rely on feeling inspired or anything like that when I write. I'm so used to just sitting down and writing that I usually don't really struggle. That being said, I felt extra-uninspired while writing this chapter in a way I haven't felt in forever, but I went back the next day and reread it and decided I liked it. I think writing about dogs helped combat my uninspired-ness. 
> 
> Also, has anyone noticed that behind the name's random name generator cycles through the same names over and over again? Like, I typically just hit random a few times until I hit something I think sounds great, then I go to read another fic and find out they used the same name and I wonder if they have the same process for naming that I do. It's odd. It could also be a sign that I have too many OC's but that train doesn't stop any time soon.
> 
> The next couple chapters will be shorter and more summary-based because I shot myself in the foot by thinking I could fill a nearly literal month of no-Kaneshiro with fluff. Time skips, ahoy.


	47. Alarm Clocks

_ Thursday, June 22, Morning _

‘Was Minako’s alarm going off every morning even though she wasn’t home?’ That was Sae’s fourth or fifth thought of the morning.. The first thoughts she’d had that morning were thinking of special ways to murder Minako for having an alarm that goes off a 4 a.m., 4:15 a.m., 4:47 a.m., 5:13 a.m., and 6 a.m.

It wasn’t any normal alarm, either. It reminded her of the foghorn on that western cartoon she wouldn’t let Makoto watch as a kid because it would rot her brain. If it had happened to anyone else, Sae thought, she’d have been the one laughing. 

She’d gotten dressed, ate breakfast and was out the door way earlier than she needed to be. She was wanted at Kirijo headquarters on the island in another hour, although she didn’t expect being early to kill her. They brought her in for an interview without even telling her what the job was for: She would really have to mess this up to not get whatever job she was up for. 

That was a concern Sae had. What if the job wasn’t something she wanted?

She’d found a nice bench near Kirijo headquarters that had an ocean view and took a seat, pulling out a book she’d stolen from Makoto for her trip. It was something called  _ The Myth of Sisyphus _ that felt way more dense than anything her sister would ever read. She’d always took her sister more for a murder-mystery or detective novel kind of girl, but she supposed she’d missed a lot after their father died.

She’d add Makoto reading philosophy books to the list of things she didn’t know about her. 

Her thoughts, and her reading, were interrupted when a short woman with long turquoise hair tied into a braid stopped her walk into the large, glass-fronted building and walked towards Sae. She was wearing a blazer that nearly matched her hair and a long skirt: Usually people dressed like this in Tokyo were Witnesses. Sae tried very hard to avoid these people.

She wasn’t in Tokyo, though, so she decided she shouldn’t be so judgmental. She closed her book and greeted the woman.

“Excuse me,” the woman said. Her voice was soft and quiet. “Are you here for an interview?”

“I am,” Sae said. “I’m Sae Niijima.” She stuck out a hand and the woman took it.

“Fuuka Yamagishi,” She had a friendly, disarming smile, Sae noticed. “I’m actually a contemporary of your sister’s, of some sort.”

“Should I ask how?”

“I can explain it better when we’re not in a public setting.”

“Honestly? That answers the question better than a full explanation would.”

Fuuka chuckled. “It usually does for anyone in the know. Come on up with me, Mitsuru has been here for awhile already.”

Sae followed wordlessly. 

The inside of the building reminded Sae of a hospital, specifically the new hyper-modern one recently built in Bunkyo. There’d been some movement there when it came to her business, as the Chief of Staff tried to turn himself in for crimes but there just wasn’t anything he was confessing to that was an actual crime. Was he a scumbag? Yes. Was any of it illegal? Nope. The glass front let in enough natural light that Sae noticed the lack of fluorescent lighting. The whole place seemed very ‘green,’ despite being located on a man made island. They walked past reception and made their way into the heart of the building. It was an eight or nine-story building and Sae had no idea how many different projects they had their hands in. They were listed as a trading company and they had some electronics on the market, but there was a strong chance that they had a hand in at least funding technology all over the world. Makoto had mentioned Aigis before, apparently some kind of human-like robot.

Sae was somewhere between excited and terrified.

“I’m guessing you’re wondering what Mitsuru wants with a prosecutor?” The confusion must have been evident on her face. They must’ve been walking forever to get to an elevator. 

“I’ll admit I’m a bit curious. I don’t think I have the kind of experience that would be useful, but I wasn’t about to reject an interview when Mitsuru Kirijo called me up personally.” Sae said. “I’m more curious how she knew I was in need of a job within seconds of me quitting.”

Fuuka gave a face that looked like she was mulling over telling Sae, but they finally reached an elevator. She hit a button and they took it to the top. “You’d rather hear it from Mitsuru, I think. I work on actually building things. She handles the more uncomfortable situations.”

“What do you work on?” Sae spoke as they reached the top floor.

“Plenty of things.” The elevator reached the top floor and Fuuka directed her through large French double doors about twenty feet in front of them. “But I’m sure we’ll have a chance to talk about that later. Good luck in your interview, but I doubt you’ll need it.”

Sae opened the doors and a woman with dark red hair looked up. The room had light grey walls and marble floors. It was fairly large, with a sitting area, a fireplace, a couple TV’s, and a small kitchen. She wouldn’t be shocked if Kirijo lived here.

“Good morning,” she greeted. She had an authority to her voice that Sae wasn’t used to hearing from others. ‘Is this how Makoto feels when I get short with her?’ If that was how Makoto felt, Sae would at least kind of feel bad. It definitely threw her off her game. “Glad you could make it, Niijima-san.”

“Thank you for having me.” Sae bowed.

“Please, sit down. We’ve got some things to go over.” Kirijo pushed a monitor to the side; it must’ve been on a track of some sort that allowed her to be face to face with anyone she was meeting with. The monitor then slowly dropped into a hole in the desk. It seemed practical, Sae thought, if not a bit high tech. She supposed that kind of thing could be done without any sort of crazy developments. It was probably necessary. Sae sat in one of the comfortable leather chairs in front of Kirijo. “I’m sorry about how things went down with the SIU.”

“It is regrettable.” It had been Sae’s dream job. “But I had been planning my exit for some time.”

“We’ve been monitoring their behavior,” Kirijo said. Her face seemed like it might’ve been permanently stuck in a serious expression. “The death of Masayoshi Shido seems to have sent them spiralling.”

“It was like a facade was crashing down.” Sae hoped she wasn’t going on too much of a limb. That was truly how she felt, but she didn’t know Kirijo’s opinion of the SIU. “I stuck it out as long as I could with hopes of making it better.”

“That’s not a one woman job, sadly,” Kirijo said. “But, you did have help. Naoto Shirogane, right?” Sae nodded. “She was there on my orders.”

“You mean, with the police department.” Sae spoke it as a statement, but meant it as a question.

Kirijo caught on and nodded. “Yes. But before I go much further, I should explain to you the role we play. We’re more than just a simple trade company.”

“I assumed that,” Sae said. “I’ve got some products with your name on it in my apartment.”

“Oh, yeah. We have some hand in manufacturing home goods, I suppose,” Kirijo said. “That’s not why I invited you here, though. Unless for whatever reason, you want a job putting together alarm clocks.”

“Would that job involve working for a megalomaniac who wants me to pin a crime on a perp that’s potentially my sister and her friends?”

The permanent serious face Sae was concerned with disappeared briefly as Kirijo laughed a classy, practiced laugh. It was obvious she’d been trained to take over from a young age. “No, but I think having you building alarm clocks is a massive misuse of your talents.”

“I agree,” Sae said, returning a polite smile. 

They went through a more professional component of the interview, with Kirijo asking about her credentials, how she works with others, and the like. There were a lot of formalities that came with a job interview that had to be fulfilled before Kirijo could officially offer a job and Sae passed through all of them with flying colors. This didn’t surprise Kirijo: She knew the SIU was very meticulous in their hiring process. She cut through the formalities once she felt comfortable she knew enough about Niijima.

“I know this is a bit unusual for you,” Kirijo said. “It’s unusual for me, as well. I haven’t made much known to you or anyone else about the position in the company. Kirijo group runs an organization on the side called the Shadow Ops.”

“Shadow as in monsters, correct?” Sae knew enough from what Makoto had told her.

“I’m impressed.”

“I know more than I’ve let on.” Sae grinned. She liked knowing things when other people didn’t know she knew. “For safety purposes. Knowledge of these things would have gotten me killed.”

“I don’t think you could’ve gotten so close to Naoto without finding out, but regardless, yes. We’re an organization that aims to protect Japan and the world from shadows.”

“You say ‘we’ as though you’re one of the people physically fighting.”

“I am,” Kirijo said. “I fought by your sister’s side just weeks ago. She’s an impressive young woman.”

Sae beamed. “Thanks. I mean, she’ll be really happy to hear that.”

“You’re allowed to be proud of her,” Kirijo said. “I feel the same way whenever someone compliments Ken. Or Minako, for some reason.”

“I haven’t gotten to know Minako all that well,” Sae said. “I do know that she has six alarms set for the morning.”

Mitsuru pinched the bridge of her nose. “She’s a wonderful friend, a great person and a complete pain in the ass.”

“For a shadowy pseudo-governmental organization, you guys have a lot of colorful characters.” 

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Kirijo joked. “They can’t all be as straight-laced and boring as I am.”

“One of the most famous heiresses in the world, the CEO of a trillion dollar company, and a member of a vigilante crime fighting organization and you call yourself straight-laced and boring?” Sae chuckled. “If I didn’t know these kids, I’d think you were nuts.”

“We’re off track, and I’d like to finish our conversation so you can start work today.” 

Sae nodded.

“I’d like you to work with Naoto. It won’t be all that different than what you were already doing,” she said. “I want you investigating the SIU and the Tokyo Police Department in an official capacity. I can get you clearance from the feds.”

“Holy shit.” Sae covered her mouth but Kirijo was nonplussed. 

“Indeed.” Kirijo said with a grin.

“And I thought working for them was my dream job. I accept!” Sae’s heart was racing. She hadn’t been this excited since she got her bar exam results back.

Kirijo laughed a laugh that was a bit less practiced. “We haven’t even discussed pay yet.”

“I’ll get paid to do this?” Sae was ecstatic.

“At least double what you made with the SIU,” Kirijo corrected. “Benefits of being private sector, I guess. I also feel guilty making any money off this work, so I kind of sweeten the pot for anyone I hire.”

“Huh. Well, uh. What else do I need to know, Kirijo-san?”

“Fuuka will brief you more later today,” Kirijo said. “We’ll both be returning to Tokyo with you. It’s also important that any information you come across stay confidential within the Shadow Ops. That means no telling your parents.”

“Or Makoto?”

“It’s sweet that you think she doesn’t already know more than I do. Any more questions?”

“How’s the work-life balance?” Sae had missed so much of her sister’s life that she was regularly learning new things. She found it a bit painful that she knew so little about somebody she supposedly cared about. 

“Most of my agents have day jobs to fill their free-time,” Mitsuru said. “Akihiko’s a cop, Fuuka works R&D, Narukami’s a writer… we tend to go a long time between cases. It’s kind of like a pandemic response team. You keep them on payroll, just in case. You never know when you’ll need them.”

“I have one final question.” Sae tried to be serious but it was hard for her to not be giddy. “Am I a nepotism hire?”

“The fact that you come with glowing recommendations from Naoto helps more than your relation to your sister,” Kirijo said. “And from here on out, call me Mitsuru.”

===

“Yuuki, when are we going to do that photo shoot?” Hifumi interrupted his and Yusuke’s normal morning conversation consisting of Yuuki complaining about being awake and Yusuke scolding him for ignoring the beauty of the morning son. It happened on a near-daily basis.

“Oh, uh-” Yuuki thought about it. Ren had moved their Mementos trip to Friday, so he had no real reason he couldn’t do today. “I’m free today, if you have time.”

“My mom’s getting impatient, so today would be best, lest we wake the dragon-erm, anger my mother.” Hifumi was getting tired of her mother’s attitude towards her shogi career to the point where she no longer wanted to play. Her mother mulled over banning internet access in their home until Hifumi pointed out that her grades would slip, plus she wouldn’t be able to look up new shogi strategies. “We can meet up right here.”

They were standing at the school gate before heading in to start their day. “That works for me. What exactly are we getting photos of?”

“Something that gets my mother to stop paying attention for a couple weeks, preferably,” Hifumi said. ‘Or a couple months,’ she thought. “Yusuke, you’ve mentioned artist’s block before. What’s that like?”

“I typically get it when my motivation for creating a piece feels wrong,” Yusuke said. “For years, I aimed to capture the essence of love in a painting, but upon the fall of my mother’s mortal enemy, I realized I was painting love out of revenge.”

“Uh, his mom didn’t like Madarame too much,” Yuuki translated.

“I… think I get it.” Hifumi had sadness in her voice. “I feel like my motivation for playing shogi is wrong.”

“It could just be a slump,” Yuuki suggested.

“I still haven’t lost a match.” Hifumi said. “I wouldn’t call it a slump if I still haven’t lost. I just don’t feel like I’m enjoying myself. Something feels off.”

“When my motivation feels off, I work on something fun,” Yusuke said. “Yuuki showed me that people on the internet will pay me to draw their favorite characters, or their friends. The joy I get from bringing them joy helps motivate me to work on something productive.”

“How do I translate that to shogi?”

“There’s that one kid at the arcade in Akihabara that takes on all comers in Gun About,” Yuuki said. “What if you did something like that?”

“Like an open challenge!” Hifumi’s eyes lit up. Yuuki wished he had his camera. “That would make a great photo shoot, too. These photographers always want me to pose like I’m playing, but what if you got me actually playing?”

“Why should art imitate life when art itself can be life?” Yusuke said dramatically. “You must take her up on this offer!”

Yuuki shook his head. “I’ll do it.” He sighed. “Why are my friends so dramatic?”

The three entered the school to start their day.

===

“Where’s the blue guys?” Sojiro asked Minako without a greeting as she entered LeBlanc that morning to learn how to not be terrible at cooking and making coffee.

“Uh, beats me.” Minako hadn’t even noticed that her apartment was devoid of Elizabeth and Theodore that morning. “Where’s Ren?”

“You just missed him. He left early today,” Sojiro rubbed the back of his head. “Something to do with a garden.”

‘Probably something to do with Sakamoto, then,’ Minako thought. She gave a yawn, then went behind the counter and tied her apron. “I’m worried now.”

“I feel like those blue guys are trouble.” Sojiro made an innocent offhand comment but he almost got more answers than he wanted.

“They’re more like, my aid in being troub-” Minako started to explain but she was interrupted.

“I keep telling you people, I don’t want to know about any of that.” Sojiro went to work preparing that morning’s curry, explaining every step.

Minako eventually got bored. She wore a grin as she spoke. “How was your date with Reiko-chan?” She thought she was teasing the older man, but instead he just smiled.

“It was nice.” He absent-mindedly stirred the curry, staring off into space, thinking about his date. He looked at Minako. “Why don’t you ever date?”

“How do you know I don’t date?” Minako was partially offended at the question.

Sojiro raised an eyebrow. “You hang out with a bunch of teenagers and a depressed doctor.”

“That means I don’t date?” Minako wasn’t comfortable with the observations he’d been making.

Sojiro shook his head and sighed. “It’s just a bit strange. You could at least make a pass at the doctor or something.”

“Look man, for someone who doesn’t want to know a lot of shit, you sure make a lot of observations,” Minako huffed. “I’m self-destructive. I had a bad blowup with someone I love and said a lot of stupid shit. I’m still not over it and I still haven’t forgiven myself. Happy?”

Sojiro didn’t say anything for a little bit. “You and Wakaba should form a support group.”

===

_ Afternoon _

Toranosuke Yoshida rarely struggled to write his speeches, but this one in particular had him stumped. Japan’s political climate had been thrown off terribly by the shocking death of Masayoshi Shido and it was up to the current brass to find a suitable replacement to limit the damage done by the power vacuum that stemmed from a prominent figure’s death. Shido wasn’t even in power, yet his victory in the upcoming Prime Minister election was all but assured.

He relied on his own experiences as a corrupt politician who saw the error of his ways to speak to the younger voting demographic, but lately, he hadn’t been able to drum up any positivity. He wasn’t even particularly asking for their support for himself. Yoshida only wanted involvement and education, regardless of the viewpoint. It was surprising, he thought, that he’d gotten such a negative reaction during his last speech. 

It was like people wanted to be angry.

‘Back to the drawing board, I suppose.’ Yoshida would figure it out. He knew he would.

===

_ Evening _

Rio rang the doorbell to her mother’s house. It’d been a week or two since her last visit and after hearing that Sojiro was on a date last night, Rio felt the need to confirm that he hadn’t spent the afternoon potentially making her an older sister.

‘Oh, god, I hate that metaphor in every single possible way.’ It either means that her mom was pregnant, which probably couldn’t happen, or that they were together and Futaba would be her step-sister. And Ren would be her older brother and- ‘I might actually start hyperventilating.’

Rio liked her friends. She really did. But she liked them as  _ friends, _ not as family. That would be a step too far.

Her mother answered the door wearing less clothes than Rio expected, but they were workout clothes. ‘Thank god.’

“Rio, dear,” her mother was out of breath and sweaty. “I wasn’t expecting company, but I’m happy to see you. Come in!”

They took a seat together at the kitchen table while her mother put on some tea. 

“I don’t know how to explain why I stopped by.” Rio sighed. “Is dad out of jail?”

Her mother nodded. “He moved away from Tokyo. We’re officially separated.”

“I’m so sorry, mom.”

“It’s okay, Rio.” She returned to the table. “There were a lot of things that were wrong with our marriage. Our personalities just weren’t compatible in a healthy way.”

“I understand. You explained it before, like your worst impulses lined up and your best ones didn’t.”

“I have no idea where that brain of yours came from,” Rio wasn’t used to the look of pride in her mom’s eyes. “But yes. So, I’ve been looking for someone who enables the good impulses I was ignoring.”

“And that’s Sojiro?”

She looked at Rio in surprise. “Did he tell you?”

“Nope. I guessed.” Rio laughed. “Honestly, did you two think you were clever?”

“I expected you to be mad.”

“Uncomfortable with it, I am,” Rio said. “Mad? Nah. He’s yet to knock half my teeth out, so I think we’re good til then.”

Her mother looked concerned. “Your dad feels terrible about what he did. I don’t expect you to forgive him but-”

“I’m not forgiving him.” Rio wasn’t ready to let that one go.

“Are you ever going to talk to him again?”

“Not until Japan allows open carry.” Rio couldn’t be talked out of that.

Reiko’s main concern was that Rio wanted to buy a gun, instead of the chance that she might use it on her father.

===

_ Friday, June 23, Early Morning _

It was the normal kind of night where Ren found himself dreaming of the Velvet Room, the former source of many existential crises and now, somehow, a source of hope. Even though they’d been extricated away from their home, Igor called to the young Trickster in a dream.

The room was big and empty, except for a desk in the center. The walls were grey and the light was far too bright, providing the rest of the room with a low hum. Ren had never been inside this building but the atmosphere, he thought, felt similar to Yongen-Jaya. 

“Trickster, welcome to the…” Igor looked around the room, potentially trying to emote confusion. “I can’t really call this the Velvet Room, now, can I?” 

“Where are we?” Ren interrupted before Igor could speak again. “No cryptic answers, please. I know we’re in Yongen-Jaya.”

“Perceptive! There was an abandoned office space down the road. I have… colonized it for the time being.”

‘Weird that one of five white people I know used the word colonized.’ Ren decided not to say that out loud. Igor probably wasn’t one for topical humor. “And the attendants?”

“They are quite thrilled to have their own rooms.” He gave a polite chuckle. 

“I’m going to have to visit when I’m not sleeping to see what they’ve done with the place.” Ren sighed. “Can you talk about why the Reaper is just hanging out in that other Velvet Room? And I still have no clue what chased you out of your own.”

“The answers to those questions are ones I do not possess. When I find out, you’ll be the first to know. However, the cards tell me it is you who will be answering my questions.”

“That’s ominous.” Igor didn’t reply. Ren didn’t need one. He fell back asleep. 

===

_ Morning _

“Mmm.” Ren woke up to a kiss on the cheek and then some confusion wondering how Sumire got into LeBlanc when Sojiro was never there that early.

“It’s time to wake up, Senpai,” she said in a sing-songy voice. 

He stirred and tried to sit up but he was still a bit groggy. He held himself up on one arm on his second attempt, which was helpful. He looked around the room to discover he was, in fact, in LeBlanc’s grey, dreary attic. He half expected Igor to teleport him literally into the abandoned office building he was pretending was the Velvet Room. “How did you get in?”

“Huh?” Sumire gave him a confused look. “Sojiro’s opened already. He couldn’t sleep.”

“That’s unusual.”

“I assumed you’d have heard him,” she said. “He’s not quiet when he’s preparing for the day.”

“You don’t need to tell me that,” Ren replied. Sojiro’s milling around the kitchen had woken him up on many occasions. He held his blanket up like he was welcoming her in.

She accepted his offer even though she was all dressed and ready for school.

“This is the best way to start a morning.” 

They didn’t fall back asleep, but they were almost late for school for reasons a gentleman like Ren wouldn’t go into detail on. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm finally caught back up on chapters where I want them to be. The reason it's taking longer than usual is my outline for June and most of July literally says (as in, this is copy and pasted): "idk some bullshit with Kirijo." It took me a long time to find a way to have the story progress to the dates where I needed without being boring.
> 
> It's also the week before an election. You know how that time between Sae's Palace and Shido's palace feels in 5, when you're kind of stuck at home and you can't go to school but there are still things you need to do while you feel the sword of Damocles hanging over your head? That's how this election feels for me. At least Joker got to do drugs.


	48. How does one properly explain Futaba?

_ Friday, June 23rd, After School _

“We all ready?” Ren looked around to the team, all 15 members, minus Akira the puppy, who they made sure Kat kept at home. 

He was met with multiple replies varying from exited nods to “fuck yeah, bro!” from Kat, which earned a nasty look from Ryuji. 

“I, uh,” Ren stammered. He didn’t want to come off as admonishing his team but Ryuji had confided in him how much he disliked the word. Trauma could be a bitch. “Can you please limit the swearing?”

Kat gave him a confused look but didn’t argue. “Sure, dude.”

They’d be exploring the Path of Kaitul, less because they needed to get to the bottom of Mementos and more because they needed the practice. He wasn’t sure if there was any point in checking for the Holy Grail.

Ren had taken stock and while he was confident that they wouldn’t have any problems moving forward, he was worried about how limited his new recruits’ experiences were. Yusuke and Yuuki had seen what Ren would call protective action, which he realized sounded vaguely sexual after thinking about it, meaning he would have to come up with a new name.

Or he’d keep it and see if anyone else noticed, because that would be pretty funny. 

Kat and Kana had no experience whatsoever, though, and Ren was looking forward to seeing them in action. He’d noticed in previous experiences that people used to working together in the real world were often better at working together in the Metaverse. In conversations with Minato, he discovered that all four members of the volleyball team either had skills, or would eventually have skills that were quite complimentary. Shiho’s Eris was proficient in bless, and Kat’s Alice would be proficient in both curse and triggering Minako’s PTSD. It would probably be best, Ren thought, to keep Kat and Minako on separate teams in battle. 

Ren didn’t know much of Penthisilia but he’d been told she’d be an ice user, and ‘if she ever, ever tries to use Marin Karin just take her out of the fight and yell at her.’ 

Ren spoke into his phone and hit a button. The world flashed purple, black and red, and they were in Mementos, and minutes later, they found themselves at the Path of Kaitul.

“We’re splitting the team up,”Joker said. “That’s the fastest way to cover ground here, plus it allows everyone to stretch their legs a bit. These shadows shouldn’t be as strong as what we’re used to, so Kat, Kana, Fox and Hound, we’re mostly here to get you guys experience.”

“We need code names for the two noobs,” Futaba said. She gestured towards Kat who gave her a confused look. “Please, we all know you’ve been planning a code name since the second you found out you might need one.”

“Firstly, I’m insulted,” Kat scoffed. “Second, I wanna be Ghost.”

“Does that mean we forget about you in season 8?” Hound asked, earning a few chuckles.

“Don’t joke about that,” Violet pouted. “I’ve never really gotten over it.”

Royal rubbed her back to comfort her. “It’s true. She regularly has nightmares where the final books don’t get published and all she has is season 8.”

Plague looked around confused. “What are you on about?”

“Game of Thrones, dude,” Ghost said. “Where you been at?”

Plague tutted. “Medical school. Then trying to find a cure for a disease that’s killing thousands worldwide.”

Death deflected Plague’s rebuttal back to the original subject. “Does that make Kana the Mountain?” 

“You will not be calling me the Mountain!” Kana protested but the nods around the group said she was about to be overruled. 

“Uh, actually, I love that for you,” Ghost said. “You’re unmoveable and stubborn.” 

“Plus, I practically need a stepstool to kiss you,” Death joked. “See? It fits multiple ways!”

“We haven’t even…!” Mountain gave a frustrated grunt and gave up. “Fine.” She pointed at Death. “When did you even find the time to watch a TV show?”

“Uh, the fourth book came out before I died.” 

“Jerk. You’re paying for this later, by the way.” 

He didn’t like the look Kana was giving him but he deflected. “Oh well. I’ve already had one funeral. What’s another?”

That earned him a slap on the back of the head from his sister. 

Joker split the team up: Him and Omen would stay with the new recruits and play backup while they got their bearings in battle. The others would forge ahead to find the next set of stairs downward. Their day would be long and full of waiting, Joker assumed, because those first few times fighting could be harrowing for newcomers. 

Fox and Hound definitely had a leg up having seen the rest of the group fight before. Mountain and Ghost, well, when they’d seen the rest of the team fight, they were in less than ideal circumstances: The first time, they were both coming out of discovering the life they’d been leading the last few months was a complete fabrication, and the second time, they were both coming directly out of an awakening.

They caught on well enough, Joker thought. As two active and competitive athletes, they were at the very least capable of holding their own. ‘Not as refined as the rest of the team, but they’ll get there,’ Joker thought as he watched an Eiha fly into an angel, knocking her down, which allowed Mountain to jam her sword into her skull. It dissolved immediately and the two celebrated, sharing a high five.

“Looks like they’re getting the hang of it,” Omen said. She didn’t expect there to be much in the way of trouble.

Ren was concerned but his concern didn’t lie with any of his new recruits. “How long have we been down here?”

“A while, why?” Omen gave him a look that let him know he was being a bit strange.

“Doesn’t the Reaper usually show up by now?”

“Isn’t him screwing off a good thing?”

“For right now, I guess it is a good thing.” Ren sighed. The group huddled back together. “We’re going to meet back up with the group. We can start working our way towards the bottom. I’m confident you guys know what you’re doing.”

He was met with nods, and they made their way to the stairway, where the rest of the Phantom Thieves were waiting. They reached the end of the Path of Kaitul with no problems. 

Ren couldn’t get the Reaper, or lack of his presence, out of the back of his mind.

===

Yuuki had given Hifumi a flash drive full of the photos when they met up at the school gate that morning. She’d had to force the money her mom gave her into his hands: He tried to refuse over and over again.

“I bet they turned out great,” she’d had to tell him. “Besides, somebody paid you for your work now, so you can call yourself a professional.”

She probably didn’t need to give him a kiss on the cheek to thank him, but that was more for herself. He was easy to manipulate and so adorable when he was flustered. It was her version of a real-life shogi move that left opponents confused and unable to act in time. She intended on winning this game.

She arrived at her mother’s small apartment in Chuo City that they almost certainly couldn’t afford. It wasn’t that the apartment was nice: It barely covered 1,000 square feet and any sane person would have referred to Hifumi’s bedroom as a closet. Sadly, her mother wasn’t someone she would consider a sane person. 

Hifumi had gotten home minutes before her mother normally would as was the case most days. Any day she didn’t have an interview or a photo shoot, she was to return home immediately so she could focus on her studies before hurrying to Kanda for shogi practice. She didn’t understand why it was mandated that she practice there, but the priest was a wonderful, kind man that reminded her much of her own father, and the paparazzi had enough respect for the church that they stayed away.

She set up her laptop on the kitchen table to check the photos before her mother walked in. If they were bad, she’d pretend she hadn’t gotten them yet. It was easier to lie to her mother.

They had set up to do the photos outdoors at Inokashira Park, which Hifumi thought would be a poor location for a shogi match, since there was the opportunity for wind to blow over the board, but the winds stayed calm that day and the natural light made for better photos. Yuuki knew what he was doing more than she anticipated, and it was very much like working with a professional. He allowed her to stay in natural positions while she played game after game against Yusuke, who was just good enough at the game that she needed to take him partially-seriously but not good enough that she had to worry about losing. 

When she played, it was like being transferred to another world where the only things that mattered were strategy. There was no public image, no photos, no school, nothing. She had her own kingdom to take care of and when it came to her soldiers, there would be no slacking.

That image was portrayed perfectly in the photos Yuuki took. ‘I look intense,’ she thought. Her eyes were focused down at the board and occasionally on her opponent, who in more than one photo looked terrified. There were other photos, though, where he looked fascinated. ‘There’s a strong chance he asks to paint me.’ She hadn’t known Yusuke for long but she’d known him to be a one-trick-pony. Any time something caught his eye, he would have to paint it. It was more endearing than anything else.

More importantly, none of the photos looked staged or posed. They reminded Hifumi of the photos she’d seen in magazines of professional athletes in their element. There was no ‘posing’ a shot of someone hitting a home run or scoring a goal, or dropping their opponent on their head with a German suplex.

She had always been jealous of these athletes being allowed to strictly be themselves when they were in the middle of a game. She’d never been afforded that luxury. Cameras weren’t allowed during a professional shogi match because they were distractions. 

But she loved these photos, and she was betting that her mom would find them every bit as compelling.

She was correct in that assumption, too, because the photos were the first thing her mother asked about when she scrambled into the door coming from work. It was a funny image that reminded Hifumi of an image in a cartoon she’d seen once. Her mother was a short, plump woman with short black hair and glasses and an obnoxiously loud voice that she struggled to keep quiet. She was actually quite self-conscious of it, so Hifumi kept her complaints to a minimum. 

“Did you get the photos back?”

Hifumi sat up, realizing she was slouching in front of the computer. Her mother wouldn’t have been okay with that. “I did.”

“What do you think?” She’d scrambled over and peered over Hifumi’s shoulder. She exclaimed her approval before her daughter could respond. “These are wonderful!” She pushed Hifumi out of the way so she could scroll through all of them. “They’re so intense! Nothing like the idol shots we normally get.”

“Should I ask him to reach out to a magazine or website to get them published?”

“What?” She looked at Hifumi dumbfounded. “He hasn’t done that yet?”

“Well…” Hifumi looked down. “He’s just an amateur, so he wanted our approval, first.”

Hifumi tried not to smirk at the look her mother gave her.

“You found an amateur that could get photos like this?” She wiped her forehead. “Keep him in the loop, please.”

“You won’t have to worry about that,” Hifumi smiled. “He’s one of my best friends.” ‘And I could probably have him eating out of the palm of my hand, if I wanted.’

===

_ Evening _

“Are you  _ sure _ that you want me to come to your place?” Kana may have asked Minato this a dozen times by now. He’d stopped giving her verbal responses. “Like, you  _ seriously _ want me to meet your  _ celebrity _ ex girlfriend?”

He smirked as they made it back to the apartment building. She looked around and Minato forgot that their living situation wasn’t exactly normal. This building was far fancier than Kana would be used to. “She wasn’t a celebrity when I dated her..” He chuckled. “Besides, if she makes you mad, you’ve got the reach advantage.” They walked into the apartment as he said this.

“That’s not funny!” Kana pouted.

Minako was laughing while sitting at the kitchen table with a laptop in front of her. “It’s actually very funny. Just don’t let her reach for the bow.” 

Kana’s frown deepened. “Who asked you?”

“You definitely have the reach advantage over me,” Minako said, poking fun at her own ‘smolness,’ as Futaba had called it. That little shit.

“This is invariably true,” a voice called out from one of the bedrooms as Aigis emerged. Futaba followed behind her. 

“Wait, I’m not done-!” She was cut off when she realized she probably wasn’t supposed to admit to investigating the Kirijo tech that went into creating Aigis. “Uh, hi guys.”

“No offense, Futaba, but what are you doing here?”

Minako shrugged. “Aigis has to do  _ something _ while you’re gone all day. Futaba spends most of her time here.”

Minato gave his sister a hard look. “‘Here’ meaning, my bedroom?”

Minako nodded. 

“You fucking dipshit!” He shouted and Futaba started giggling relentlessly, having been caught. “We need to sweep my whole room for recording devices and sis? You need to buy me a new computer.”

“I assure you, anything placed in your room was only done for your protec-” 

Futaba interrupted Aigis and in between giggles said something to the tune of “you should have seen your face.” She finally calmed down a small bit. “I just needed HD footage to make sure Kana wasn’t an attack from Dr. Gero,” then the laughing fit continued and Minato scrambled to his room to check for hidden cameras and microphones.

Kana raised an eyebrow. “Did you really install surveillance footage in his bedroom?”

“Nope!” Futaba winked. “But he doesn’t know that.”

“You’re evil.” She covertly gave Futaba a high five before going to retrieve her boyfriend from his frenzied room-clearing activity. 

Minutes later, Yukari walked through the front door. Minato, successfully calmed down after Kana explained that Futaba hadn’t, in fact, bugged his room, returned to the living area with his girlfriend. 

Yukari noticed the glares Minato was occasionally throwing Futaba’s way, looked like she was about to ask, but then walked the other way, instead opting to ask Minako what was happening in secret. Minako obliged, whispering back what Futaba had done, leading to uproarious laughter from Yukari, then everyone else in the room besides Minato. 

They left him to sulk while they carried on their conversation.

“I still can’t believe my boyfriend’s ex is the star of Featherman,” Kana said after they’d been talking for a few minutes.

“Nobody believes it,” Yukari said with a chuckle. “I’m not sure how I ever dealt with this mope for so long.”

Minato protested. “We only dated for like six months!”

“Yeah, and then I got to spend eight years mourning you, so that’s got to add something to it,” Yukari said then paused. “Wait, you know about that, right?”

Kana nodded. 

“Mourning adds bonus points to any relationship,” Futaba said matter-of-factly. “At least that’s how it works in the Sims.”

There was a prolonged silence in the room, the prospect of what Futaba could possibly be doing on such a game making everyone extremely uncomfortable.

“What? When I don’t feel like leaving the house but I want to feel social, I can just make a pretty guy and have him-”

“Okay! We don’t need to hear any more!” Minako interrupted. “Just, whatever you’re doing with Aigis, please, for the love of christ, don’t imbue any Sims logic into her.”

“I am unsure of what this-”

Futaba interrupted Aigis. “It’s that game I showed you the other day with all the people that we were controlling.” 

“Oh, is that where all the people kept-”

“Yeah, I’m going to stop you right there and we’re going to forget this conversation,” Minako interrupted, having a base idea of what Aigis was about to say next.

Yukari awkwardly tried to steer the conversation away from whatever Aigis was going to reply. “So, how are, uh-” She coughed. “How’s the no-longer-single life going?” The question was sent in the direction of both Minato and Kana. She’d just be grateful to whoever answered.

Kana laughed at the way she tried to change the subject. It reminded her of how Kat would deal with any form of drama, except Kat was probably  _ actually _ coughing. “It’s great!” She said this with enthusiasm. “I no longer have to rely on Kat’s stony ass to show up on time when I want to do something.”

Yukari laughed. “Minato’s greatest skill is showing up.”

“Yeah, unless he’s dead,” Minako spat sarcastically. 

Futaba raised a hand. “It’s weird how we just talk openly about the fact that emo-Jesus here used to be dead.”

“Huh,” Kana laughed. “I thought I came up with that.”

“Apparently everyone’s just calling him that,” Yukari said. “Minako called him that all the time. I think the circumstances were different.”

“ _ I lost my twin brother! _ ” Minako said. She stood up to storm off but then sat back down. “Sorry. He’s here, which means I don’t get to storm off about it anymore.” She huffed. “Stupid martyr complex.”

“I mean, I made a pretty great door.”

Minako stood back up and pointed her finger in her brother’s face. “I would make twice the door you ever did!”

Kana leaned over to Yukari and whispered. “Should we, like, let them have this out?” Yukari nodded and together they ushered Futaba and Aigis into her room.

Yukari closed the door and Kana took in her surroundings. This must’ve been the master bedroom of the apartment because it was positively massive, with fluffy carpet and a giant bed. 

“You’re the first people I’ve invited in here since we moved in,” Yukari said. 

“Pink Argus struggles to find a lover!? I love her even more now!”

Both Kana and Yukari gave matching sighs, then looked at each other and laughed. 

“That’s not what I meant!”

“That’s not false, though,” Futaba corrected.

“Wait, how do you know that?”

Futaba scurried out of the room quickly.

“I believe Futaba was telling the truth when she said she did place recording equipment in Minato’s room,” Aigis said. “However, she has placed reco-”

Yukari and Kana went right trying to figure out where Futaba could have possibly hidden a camera or a microphone.

Futaba sat on the bed in Minato’s room. “Mweheheheheh.”

Kana and Yukari bonded over debugging Yukari’s room that night. There was no microphone or camera but Futaba was gone by the time they figured it out.

===

**Kana:** Permission to murder Futaba

**Minato:** Granted

**Minako:** yep. No arguments here

**Shiho:** like, I’m not going to participate but I’ll watch

**Makoto:** I suggest we find another navigator before we go through with this

**Goro:** Meh, Ren and I can handle nav

**Ren:** We aren’t killing Futaba!

**Futaba:** traitors.

**Futaba:** all of you

**Futaba:** you can have your phone privileges back when I get an apology

**Ren:** Please don’t lock everyone out of their phones

**Futaba:** only because you asked nicely

**Futaba:** I still want an apology

**Minako:** Futaba pretended that she bugged Minato’s room to get him to freak out and then did the same thing to Yukari.

**Minako:** Kana and Yukari tore apart her room for hours

**Shiho:** I’m literally crying

**Ann:** thanks for the cockblock

**Kasumi:** I think you need a different name for that

**Sumire:** What’s cockblock mean

**Kasumi:** no way you’re that innocent, sis. Also, we’re in the same room

**Sumire:** but dad might be listening

**Kasumi:** he’s not even here

**Ren:** OMW

**Kasumi:** nobody invited you

**Kasumi:** great now Sumire’s being all mushy

**Kat:** Rio would Tae care if I brought Akira over

**Rio:** she’d be mad if you didn’t bring Akira tbh

**Tae:** i’m literally in this group chat

**Kat:** but ur old

**Tae:** You’ve been selling me weed since you were 14.

**Ren:** Thank god this chat is encrypted

===

Rio knew to answer the door not because Kat knocked, but because of a little bark from Akira, who was definitely being a little shit because he always was. She opened the door to find Kat but more importantly, Akira fighting an old leather sandal to the death. Kat was late. Again.

At least she had a good excuse this time. Akira bolted into the front door and found Tae sitting on the sofa immediately, jumping on her lap and licking her face.

“I usually don’t do this on the first date,” Tae said with a laugh. She pulled the dog away from her face and got him to settle down on her lap. 

“He’s a snuggler after he calms his tits,” Kat said, picking up the sandal from the doorway. 

Akira was digging his nose into Tae’s lap trying to find a comfortable spot. He settled on having his head hanging off her lap next to her left hand, where she held a not-yet-lit joint.

“Uh,” Kat took a seat in an easy chair across from Tae and Rio sat next to her guardian. “Don’t let him too close to that J. Already found him digging into my stash.”

Tae laughed. “He takes after you, then. Likes weed and cuddling?”

“Dude, I tried to cuddle  _ one time _ and I was high as-”

“I’m kidding, Kat.” Tae and Rio both laughed at Kat, who was more than a little offended. “Where’s your bodyguard?”

Kat huffed sarcastically. “She’s meeting her boyfriend’s  _ family _ .” She said family in a nasaly voice as if to make fun of it. “Like she hasn’t already met all of them.”

“She had to meet Yukari,” Rio said. “Ya know, normal stuff like meeting the ex.”

Tae chuckled. “Yeah. We’re all about normal, aren’t we?”

Akira let her move her left hand so she could bring the joint to her lips and she dug out a lighter with her right hand and lit the end. She took a deep inhale and let it out.

“Want some?” She held it out with her right, using her left to pet the dog sleeping on her lap. 

Kat took it and pulled out a lighter of her own. “Surprised you’re smoking. How’s Miwa-chan?”

“Alive and well,” Tae said with pride. “It fucking worked, man.” Akira perked up hearing her so happy and started licking her face again, drawing a laugh from everyone in the room. “I’m celebrating a little.”

“Glad I get to be here for it,” Kat said. 

Rio nodded in affirmation, then took the joint and the lighter from Kat, then lit it for herself. Then she coughed a couple times.

“I couldn’t have done this without you kids,” Tae tilted her head back and watched the ceiling fan for a minute. She hadn’t smoked for a couple weeks and it was hitting her pretty hard. “We should play some music.”

Rio plugged her phone into the stereo and searched for something good to play. “As much as I’d like to take credit of any sort, this is all you, Doc.”

Tae chuckled. “Sure, I did the work.” Akira had settled back down by now. “But I was stuck before I met you guys. Now? It’s like I’m awake for the first time in a long time.”

“Dude, I fucking feel that,” Kat said. “It’s like I was just wandering through life before.”

“Same.” Rio said. She was still a lightweight when it came to tolerance, so she was feeling about as great as Tae was. She finally decided on a song that fit her mood: the song she settled on was loud, heavy and atmospheric. Deciphering the lyrics wasn’t easy.

_ Tucked away for good, I'll say finally, finally I'm awake. I'm not the same. I'm free. I'm free _ .

It was a tad different from what Tae normally listened to, but she received no complaints. They shot the shit the rest of the night before Tae decided to go to bed.

Kat fell asleep on the couch and stirred a bit as Goro made it home from Makoto’s. Rio noticed he’d been spending more time there lately. She thought it would be a funny time to try something.

When Goro entered the apartment, Rio flipped the lights on.

“Where have you been?” Rio gave him a hard look similar to the one she’d received from her mother a time or two. 

“Uh- I-” Goro stammered. “I was out.”

Rio raised an eyebrow. “Out? Out doing what? Are you doing drugs?!” She didn’t get loud enough to wake anyone, but Kat was stirring awake anyway.

“I-I-” Goro continued his stammer, unsure of what to say.

Rio laughed. “I’m fucking with you. It was us doing drugs.”

“Oh.” Goro laughed but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I thought I was in trouble.”

Rio again furrowed her brow. “You doin’ something that would get you in trouble?” Then she winked.

“Akechi fucks!” A very sleepy Kat shouted as she woke up a bit further. Akira woke up as well and ran circles around Goro’s legs.

The door to the apartment was still open.

“I suppose we should apologize to the neighbors tomorrow,” Goro said with a chuckle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think of the chapter. I had a blast writing Futaba and I'm working towards some pretty goofy stuff with Hifumi and Yuuki, all while trying to fit in more plot. This part of the story is difficult for me to write because I initially planned a time skip for June/July that I never ended up going with. We're finally getting back to things actually happening, which will make writing easier. 
> 
> There may be a bit of a break after I post Chapter 49 on Friday. There's just too much going on in the world for me to plan writing anything beyond that. Once this election season/potential civil unrest is out of the way, I'll go a bit more into planning future chapters. If I had to guess, Chatper 50 will be written by sometime next week. My goal is to have up to 55 written before Thanksgiving. So, when I call this a hiatus, I think it's really more just moving towards a more reasonable posting schedule.


	49. Awkward Conversations, Live, with Ken Amada

_ Saturday, June 24, Morning _

The van was about halfway between Iwatodai and Tokyo before Sae could finally focus on the changes the last couple of days had brought to her life. She spent the first half of the trip talking to Ken, who sat in the back seat with Koromaru resting his head on his lap. Mitsuru had opted to drive, which Sae surprisingly found more nerve-wracking than a dog loose in the back seat. Koromaru was, from what Sae could tell, extremely well-behaved. His behavior reminded her of Morgana, meaning his demeanor was doggedly human. 

Ken was a quiet kid that reminded Sae of her sister in some ways. He seemed much older than he actually was, but Sae wasn't sure she knew him well enough to ask about it. The kid spoke when spoken to, but Ken preferred quiet. He'd expressed that he wasn't happy to be missing school, but because Kirijo Group-owned Gekkoukan, he could get the absence excused. When his teacher found out who they were visiting, she joked that she wanted to go, too.

Sae only knew this because that bothered Ken. He didn't know what Miss Toriumi knew of his Senpai.

"I'll tell you when you're older," Mitsuru had replied when he asked. 

Ken pouted. "I'm 18! How much older do I need to be?" Then he paused and thought for a minute. "What could have possibly happened? Wasn't Minato 16?"

Mitsuru chuckled awkwardly. "We try and avoid thinking about Minato's exploits from back then."

Sae and Ken shared a look, neither deciding to pry further. They made conversation about Sae's former career as a prosecutor the rest of the way, with Ken taking an interest in public service.

He wasn't particularly thrilled with how reliant the Japanese government had been on the Kirijo Group to protect the nation from shadows. At the same time, the diet flirted with fascism in each election. Granted, the Cabinet member seemingly in charge of the fascist swing had already died.

Sae suddenly wished they could have a conversation about Minato's sex life again. 

"Interesting thing I forgot to mention," Mitsuru said once they were out of the city and into the countryside. "Did you know you have a palace?"

Sae didn't know why that made her heart drop, but she assumed Mitsuru didn't mean that the Niijima's had a wealthy cousin that left them a giant building. "A what?"

"Like, a distortion," Mitsuru said. 

"I've heard Makoto mention palaces before." But Makoto had never told her she had one of her own. 

Mitsuru looked over at Sae, who returned a glare. The glare wasn't for her statement, but because she again wasn't looking at the road. "You're an interesting case, according to one of our researchers. You've met Wakaba?"

Sae nodded.

"She's been there. I'll have her meet with you today."

===

_ Lunchtime _

"Miyahara, do you have a minute?" 

Keiko hadn't made it out of the classroom before the teacher and interim-principal stopped her. She so badly wanted to say no, she didn't have a minute, but Keiko didn't want to lie to Ushimaru. He was too old and bitter to be fooled by an innocent lie. Her stomach rumbled. Hopefully, he didn't need much. "I can spare a few. How can I help you?"

She expected Ushimaru's eyes to narrow and for him to yell at her for something she printed in the school paper. Instead, he looked at her, concerned. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Keiko then caught herself. "I'm uh-yes." She sighed. "I'm great. Wonderful, even." So much for not lying. 'How do I explain that I'm mid-existential crisis and haven't slept in days?'

"You just look like you haven't been sleeping."

Keiko wanted to be insulted by that, but she probably did look like a mess. "Yeah, there's a good reason for that."

He raised an eyebrow. "And what's that?"

"I haven't slept in days," Keiko said with a chuckle. "That's why I look like I haven't slept."

She expected him to be frustrated, but he laughed instead. "Take care of yourself, please. You're one of the few kids I don't have to worry about nodding off in my class. Anyway, that's not why I pulled you aside."

She wasn't in trouble, so she decided she could switch back to her typical vernacular. "What's up?"

"You should make sure you're at the next school board meeting. Monday." He spoke quietly.

Keiko had already planned ongoing, but they were typically dull affairs. Especially after the Kamoshida incident and the death of Kobayakawa that followed. "Is something going to happen?"

His voice was still quieter than usual. The school knew Ushimaru for being a bit boisterous. "Can you keep this out of the school paper until after the meeting?"

Keiko nodded. "It won't be the first time I've sat on big information." She thought of the child blowing up the television in rage. 

"The school's been purchased by Kirijo Group. The school board will be announcing their resignation in protest."

"Holy shit." She started to correct her language, but he waved her off.

"I'd keep that to yourself for now," Ushimaru warned. "I only found out because Mitsuru Kirijo called me personally. I won't be principal anymore, thank god."

"Aww, and you were just getting your feet wet." Keiko didn't like many authority figures, but she was fond of Ushimaru. He was a bit gruff, but he didn't take any shit. 

"More like my head soaked." Ushimaru shook his head. "I was old before I took the job, but I'm ancient now."

===

_ After School _

Mitsuru pulled the van into the executive parking spot at a garage outside of a large building near the location of Sae's old job. Sae hadn't realized Kirijo Group even owned this building. 

Ken and Koromaru were out of the car first, and it was apparent Koromaru didn't like nor was he used to wearing a leash. 

"I trust Koromaru wouldn't run away," Ken said. "I just don't know what the leash laws are here." The older pup gave a happy bark like he understood every word Ken was saying. 

They walked from the van into the corporate office, Mitsuru bringing up the rear. 

"Welcome to our corporate offices," she said as Sae turned around. "Well, kind of. We rent out most of the space."

Ken leaned down and scratched Koromaru behind the ears. "Koromaru doesn't like Mitsuru-san's office."

"Let me guess," Sae said. "It's on the top floor." Her tone was droll.

"Well, if you really  _ don't _ want an office with a scenic city view, I can put you in the parking garage…"

They got on an elevator that moved surprisingly fast. It was a tall building, but they'd made it to the 67th floor, where Sae would find her new office in under a minute. Any time she'd been on an elevator in a building this tall, she thought she could expect to be there for a while. It fit in well with the building's ultra-modern look. She'd have guessed they just finished construction in the last few years, but she knew from a plaque out front that they completed construction in the 1950s. It must've undergone renovations recently.

It turned out that the 67th floor wasn't the top floor, but it was close. Mitsuru was showing Sae to her new office. This floor wasn't similar to the bottom floor. The bottom floor reminded Sae more of a hospital waiting room than an office building, with marble flooring and bright colors with that weird stock artwork that only really has a place in textbooks and hospitals. It made the tower seem unimportant, like it was the home to some soulless conglomerate trying to give the impression of being something completely different. 

The floor housing the office was emptier than Sae assumed it'd be. Could the Kirijo corporate office spare this much space? It seemed bare, besides some desks.

"This floor is for shadow-related operations," Mitsuru said. Ken was getting Koromaru some run, taking him off his leash and letting him run around the desks. He found and fished out some dog toys that were keeping Koromaru busy. "This is Koromaru's desk."

"The dog has a desk?"

Mitsuru laughed. "It's mostly where we keep toys and treats." She then led Sae towards her own office, a corner office that gave her a view over most of Tokyo other than the spots where taller buildings blocked it. The outside walls were glass bottom to top in a way that actually made Sae a bit uncomfortable at first. She had a wood desk with a computer and a couple of monitors on it that must've worked similar to the sliding monitors Mitsuru had on her desk a couple of days ago because there was a track it looked like the monitors ran on. "What do you think?"

"That I'll be too busy staring out the window to get any work done," Sae said sarcastically. "It's great."

"Naoto's office is next door, too, but she's not in all that often." Mitsuru gestured towards the window, where the police station was about a thousand feet down. "She's almost always at the station."

She left Sae alone to get acclimated to her new surroundings and said she'd send Wakaba over in an hour to talk. Sae didn't really want the hour of free time to think, but it was a nice gesture. The new office was a bit overkill, Sae thought, but the view made reflection easier. She couldn't help but feel like a bit of a turncoat even though she was now technically working for the Kirijo Group and, in turn, the national government. She had gone from investigating and prosecuting criminals to helping a group that, among the police, is a criminal outfit to studying law enforcement specifically for that outfit. 

It was a beautiful middle finger to those misogynist assholes that did nothing but dismiss her findings and expect her only to take cases she knew she would win. It felt nice to have a conscience again.

The view out of her office was very nice.

There was a knock at her door, which she supposed she'd expected but hadn't realized it'd been an hour already. She opened it, and Wakaba Isshiki was standing there, greeting her.

"Isshiki-san," Sae bowed in greeting. 

"Wakaba is fine," she said as she came into the room. She plopped down into a chair across Sae's desk. "Uh, I'm being rude. Sorry." She sighed. "Long day. Not work-related."

"Is it anything I can help with?" Sae wanted to delay hearing about her supposed palace for as long as possible.

Wakaba shot her a look that reminded Sae eerily of the old man at the coffee shop. "You weren't hired to be my therapist, so I'll spare you the details. Did Kirijo tell you about the palace?"

Sae nodded. "She mentioned it offhand."

Wakaba sighed. "That's a very 'Mitsuru' thing to do. She's gotten better, I'm told, but social cues aren't quite her thing."

"I can't criticize," Sae chuckled. "I'm probably worse."

"We need to form a ranking system for me, you, Mitsuru, and your sister as for who's the most awkward," Wakaba said. 

"I think the proper term for that would be a support group."

"Oh." Wakaba looked down in thought. "Probably." She looked back up, seemingly in higher spirits than she was when she came in. "Ready for a crash course? We might be here for a while. If you need a drink or to go to the bathroom, do so now."

Sae pulled a bottle of water out of her bag and set it on the table. 

"I meant liquor. You might need it."

Wakaba explained the ins and outs of palaces, what they are, the distortions they cause, and every little thing she knew about them. Sae considered herself well-versed, but three hours later, she was strongly regretting not having a bottle of whiskey in her bag. The worst part was that Wakaba hadn't even explained where Sae fit into all of this. 

"So, you have a palace," Wakaba finally said, and Sae nodded in agreement. "The Casino of Envy," she said in a grand voice, then laughed. "Sorry, it's just kind of an outrageous name. Basically, your uh, need to win every case turned into a distortion that created an alternate universe where your shadow ruled over a rigged casino. It's actually still there."

"What!?" Sae startled.

"Yeah…" Wakaba said. "It's hard to explain. Normally, when a distortion disappears, the palace collapses, but you just, like, changed the bad behavior? We don't really have a good explanation."

Sae tried hard to think about when she stopped worrying about winning. She'd started noticing the police's odd behavior shortly before she met Naoto. "Do you think somebody tried to change my heart?"

"It does sound like a Phantom Thief thing, but we've asked them. It wasn't any of us, either."

"So, I just woke up and changed on a whim?"

"Possible, but doubtful." Wakaba scratched her own chin. "Uh, not to say that you aren't capable of bringing about your own change. I mean, like, who changes that greatly on a whim?"

"People with mental disorders?"

"Exactly."

"I've been thinking through this entire thing that I'm losing my mind."

"Not  _ that _ kind of losing your mind, though." Wakaba sat up a bit straighter in her chair, and Sae swore she saw a lightbulb go off over her head. "Wanna see your palace?"

"Uh, am I allowed to say no?"

"Well, we can't go right now. We'd need the kids or something. My Persona isn't the best for fighting."

"You didn't answer my question," Sae said. "But I'm pretty sure I'm not allowed to say no."

Wakaba laughed. "If any of us backed down when it was smart, we wouldn't be here."

===

_ Evening _

Sojiro left Ren in charge of LeBlanc that night, which he had hoped meant the opportunity for alone time with Sumire. He was trying to rid himself of the guilty feeling he had for being annoyed with Kasumi and Souji for monopolizing her for the night. Rise made the mistake of mentioning how much better she was than Yu at Smash Bros, an innocent error on her part that led the twins to a near fistfight over which of them was better. So, now she was stuck with the Yoshizawas arguing over Smash Bros at her house all night. Ren cared for his girlfriend and her sister, but he didn't envy Rise and Yu one bit. 'That might actually turn into a literal bloodbath.' 

He turned his attention to the dishes. 'The dishes won't wash themselves,' Ren mused and went back to cleaning up after his customers. He wouldn't want Sojiro to hear this, but Ren secretly enjoyed doing the dishes. It was such a minor inconvenience, but a simple task that Sojiro appreciated. Of everything he did, it was nice to get thanked for something. 

Peace and quiet was an unwelcome rarity for Ren, so he was at least a little bit relieved when not one but three 'customers' entered the cafe at once. He welcomed Futaba, Wakaba, and Keiko into the cafe, wishing they'd come a little earlier because he was just starting to clean the curry pot. That wasn't something he wanted to do twice in one night.

They ignored his greeting for the most part while the three of them exchanged a look. 

"Don't bombard me all at once," he said with a chuckle as the awkward silence overtook the room. Keiko started to turn for the door, but Ren stopped her. "There's a zero percent chance your nosey ass isn't going to try and spy on us. Might as well stick around."

Futaba giggled. "Are you talking to her or me?"

"You're more of a problem; at least Keiko doesn't blackmail me with nudes."

"What?" Wakaba and Keiko both exclaimed at the same time.

"Eight yen! That's all my nudes were worth!" Ren was enjoying the reactions from the non-Futaba people in the room.

Futaba adjusted her glasses and took a seat at the counter. Her mother followed. "I paid Shiho in BitCoin, so technically, it's probably worth a few thousand by now."

"Where did you get BitCoin, dear?" Wakaba's use of 'dear' sounded more threatening than, uh, endearing. 

"Oh, I stole the wallet file off of…"

"Don't tell me any more, please." Wakaba sighed. "I'm signing over custody to Ren."

"You're really making that time reset sound good, Wakaba." Futaba met that with a wince. "Er. Sorry. That was mean."

"I know you've got weird shit going on, but time reset?" Keiko looked perplexed. She'd remained standing but then decided to sit next to Wakaba. "Is it like Looper?"

"Congratulations! Nobody's guessed that one before." Ren grinned. "It's like that, except I don't have any control over it."

Keiko smacked her own forehead. "You've had foresight on everything that's happened so far this year, and I spent the first few months running away from you."

Ren laughed. "In your defense, I am the scary delinquent transfer student who sells drugs, works for the yakuza, eats babies, and is a danger to society."

Keiko looked down. "I know you're trying to be funny, but I legitimately feel bad that I bought into the rumors."

"Eh," Ren said nonplussed. "It gets the best of all of us. I didn't expect that we'd actually get along if that makes you feel better."

Ren set a coffee cup in front of Keiko and went to work on cups for Futaba and Wakaba. Maybe calling Futaba's coffee "coffee" wasn't entirely correct. There was more milk and sugar in it than there was coffee. 

"I don't understand how I've lived a block away from this place my entire life, and I've never once thought to try it," Keiko shook her head. 

"You've said that before," Ren pointed out.

Keiko pulled her phone out briefly to check her text messages, then looked back at Ren. "I'll probably be saying it every day for the rest of my life." 

"I didn't even like coffee until I moved in here, so we have a shared regret."

Wakaba interrupted their conversation. "Ren, I really do have something we need to talk about. Could you join me upstairs?"

"Awfully presumptuous of you to ask for entry into my bedroom," Ren said with a crooked grin.

"You're around the old man too much."

"You guys are the same age, Mom!" Futaba said with a giggle. She'd been absorbed into something on her phone for most of their visit. "Stop acting like you don't have a cru-"

"Not one more word, daughter of mine."

Ren interjected the brief argument. "If it's metaverse stuff, Keiko knows."

"Who the fuck aren't you telling at this point?" Wakaba said incredulously.

"It's a slippery slope." Ren sighed. "And nobody told. Remember how I needed a new TV?"

Futaba laughed, and Wakaba nodded. She'd heard the saga from her daughter. "Keiko was there when Lavenza blew it up."

Wakaba's shocked expression told the story. She looked at Keiko. "You poor, poor girl." She wrapped an arm around Keiko, who was more shocked at that than she had been at the explosion. "Have you slept since? I remember when I found out. I didn't sleep for like a month."

"Uh," Keiko wasn't comfortable with the attention. "I've had a rough week."

"Understandably." Wakaba switched gears. "That makes this easier, then. We'd like an escort into Sae's palace."

"Sae still has a palace?"

"Shockingly, yes." Ren placed Wakaba's coffee in front of her. She had a specific order she liked that took a bit longer. "She would like to see it for investigation purposes."

"Uh. Nothing against Sae, but are we really helping out the SIU?"

"Huh? She got canned. She works for Kirijo now."

"Oh!" Ren raised an eyebrow. "That's news to me."

"Like, Mitsuru Kirijo, right?" Keiko interjected. "Because that's why I'm here."

Wakaba perked up. “You know Mitsuru?” 

Keiko shook her head. "I do not, but I have some news on that front I wanted to ask Ren about since he knows her."

"Well, I work pretty closely with her if you'd rather ask me."

Keiko gave her an odd look. "You know I'm a reporter, right?"

"Isn't this a good thing?" Then Wakaba laughed. "Besides, if things go south, this is my way of getting back at Mitsuru for making me work with Teddie."

Keiko didn't want to know who Teddie was. "Anyway… I was pulled aside by our interim principal earlier," she said. "Kirijo Group is purchasing the school."

Wakaba rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that's something Mitsuru would do. She's in town. Want me to see if she'll talk?"

Keiko nodded vigorously. She couldn't find words.

Wakaba pulled out her phone and sent a couple texts. "She wants to know if you want to meet here tomorrow at 10 a.m."

Keiko tried to speak, but it came out as gibberish.

"Keiko.exe has stopped responding," Futaba said. "Hey! I got to say that about someone else for once!"

"She'll be here," Ren said. "I think we should maybe get Keiko home. I'll talk to Mitsuru tomorrow, and maybe a few of us can run through Sae's palace."

===

_ Sunday, June 26, Morning _

Ren convinced Sojiro to leave LeBlanc closed that morning to prevent regular customers from intruding on Keiko's interview. She'd been mute the entire walk back to her house, but Ren assumed she'd show up with her game face on that morning, and anyone who got in her way might face her wrath. 

She showed up 10 minutes early, initially knocking on the window but coming in when she noticed Ren and Sojiro milling around the kitchen, preparing the cafe for the part of the day after Keiko conducted her interview. She took a seat at the counter. Sojiro greeted her.

"You ready?"

Keiko nodded. "As I'll ever be." 

Sojiro noticed her chewing on her nails while she waited for a cup of coffee, though, so he knew she wasn't quite where she needed to be. "I don't think you need to worry."

Keiko didn't really respond. She gave a little nod that acknowledged he said something.

"She's not scary," Sojiro said. 

"She's really not!" Ren was in the back of the kitchen. "Sumire tried to fight her. Do you think she's scary?"

That broke Keiko a little. She didn't know Sumire well, but she didn't find her frightening. "She seems like a sweetheart."

"And so is Mitsuru." Ren then laughed a little. "It'll be like interviewing Makoto."

“I hate Makoto.” Keiko pouted. 

"But you aren't scared of her."

"Fine." Keiko didn't want to admit it, but Ren and Sojiro really did make her feel better. 

Mitsuru Kirijo walked into the cafe minutes later. Ren was right: She had an aura of authority, maybe, but she wasn't frightening. She was friendly even, deferring to Ren in a way that made it look like he was her boss.

Mitsuru sat in a booth, and Keiko took the seat across from her, introducing herself.

"Hello, Kirijo-san. Thank you for taking time out for me today."

"Any time," Kirijo said. "You're Keiko, right? Wakaba told me about you."

Keiko nodded, a bit jarred at being called by her first name.

"You can call me Mitsuru if that's fine." 'Yes, that's fine. That's great, actually.' Keiko didn't expect her to be this friendly. "This probably won't be the last time we speak."

"I can start there, then." Keiko seemed to have her bearings back. "I was told yesterday that Kirijo Group purchased Shujin Academy. Is that true?"

"It is," Mitsuru said with pride. "It's not the first time we've done this, albeit our reasoning for doing so is a bit different than how we came to own Gekkoukan. Junpei Iori, the volleyball coach, is actually a friend of mine." Her expression broke. "Maybe don't tell him I called us friends. He gets… well, I don't know how much time you spend around him." 

Keiko grinned. "That's going in the story."

Mitsuru sighed. "Minako will love that."

Back to business, Keiko thought. "What made you purchase Shujin?" She let the context hang in the air. Shujin's reputation had tanked since the Kamoshida case went public. It didn't help that soon after, Fujinami's father confessed to being an abusive piece of shit.

"I think you're suggesting that I'm buying low, but it's not got much to do with reputation," Kirijo said. "I understand the situation the school is currently in. I also understand that a change in ownership, from being run by a school board to being privatized, is a problem I'm prepared to address. This isn't privatization as those who fetishize it would see it."

Keiko fidgeted in her seat a little. 

"This is simply a case of me being someone the government trusts at the national level." Mitsuru looked down, not necessarily in shame, but maybe in an emotion close to it. "Perhaps the trust is at a level that rightfully makes people uncomfortable, but I don't intend to break it. Shujin Academy is at a crossroads where it needs leadership, and Kirijo Group is in a good position to provide that leadership. At Monday's school board meeting, we'll be announcing the new principal, and Ushimaru will be going back to his post as a teacher."

===

_ Monday, June 27, Daytime _

"All reality ever gave me was boredom and bickering." Adachi was enjoying his new home, rent-free. If he was candid with himself, he was happier to find a consistent place to stay than he was to find himself in the shadow world again.

That didn't mean he wasn't thrilled with both outcomes. "They always liked me more over here, anyway." 

He knew  _ why _ he was in prison, but he didn't imagine it getting so goddamned lonely. 

"Nobody could possibly be lonely in Tokyo, I said," he muttered to himself in an unhinged manner. He found humor in the fact that his new home was a prison of his own choosing, a series of cells in a circle surrounding a sturdy wooden desk. There was a large blue-with-gold-lettering VR logo.

The beds weren't comfortable, but they were better than prison, he supposed, and the roommate seemed friendly enough.

They'd met before. The Reaper wasn't much of a talker, and he was soaked in blood and covered in chains. He used to roam the streets of Magatsu Inaba; Adachi assumed he was just as out of a home as himself. He allowed him to stick around for old time's sake. Magatsu-Izanagi would make short work of the Reaper if he wanted to start anything.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was born of election stress. I should be back on schedule after this Friday. I've got an outline written through at least the next major arc, then the arc that follows is a complete farce, so I'm winging it. Ideally, I have enough planned for another 8 or so chapters. I'm finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. If things go as they currently are, I'll have the story finished by February/March. 
> 
> Ken is a giant stick in the mud. Keiko doesn't know what she's getting herself into. Mitsuru, for that matter, doesn't know what she's getting herself into. 
> 
> Then there's Adachi, who's just chillin' with the Reaper without fear, because there's a scene in the anime where he's commanding the Reaper and I thought that was badass. 
> 
> Also, about the pseud change: I have a twitch channel that isn't quite up and running yet that I will probably start plugging at the end of chapters sometime soon. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! The election is over! I survived!


	50. An Actual, Literal School Board Meeting

_ Monday, June 27, Evening _

The school board, in protest of the night’s meeting, didn’t show up. Mitsuru took their absence as a sign of great disrespect, but she supposed it didn’t matter. They were no longer of importance in regards to the school’s operation, and she had other plans for the school beyond what a board, specifically the previous stuffy regime, would allow. 

An excellent example of her radical plan was to have a school board made up of students involved in decision making. Money and budgets would no longer be something the school would need to worry about, Mitsuru hoped. One of the catalysts for her deciding to purchase the school was seeing how little funding everything except the volleyball team received. She later found out from Ren that the reporter she spoke to was the only person on the newspaper staff other than him because she was operating out of a closet. She asked Ren why she was running out of a closet, and he had no idea. There were multiple empty rooms she should have been able to use.

The board not attending meant Mitsuru now sat in front of a crowd of expectant students, parents and media. Keiko’s story was published that morning and made waves around Tokyo.

“I see the board couldn’t remain professional enough to show up tonight,” Mitsuru said. At least two of the seven members had children in the school, so she assumed they were getting pulled out. ‘Good start,’ Mitsuru thought sardonically. “I already made my official announcement.” She made sure to nod in Keiko’s direction. A good start to transparency meant getting the school’s news source involved. “But for those that haven’t heard, Kirijo Group has purchased Shujin Academy and will be taking over its day-to-day operations. There will be more changes announced at a later date. However, things will remain status quo until the end of this semester in three weeks.” She noticed a few camera flashes. “There will be one change. Effective tomorrow, Isako Toriumi will replace interim principal Ushimaru, who wishes to return to his post.”

Toriumi approached the stage. She was young when she became the composition teacher at Gekkoukan and proved herself capable almost immediately. She didn’t have experience in administration, although she’d been certified after graduating college. Toriumi was every bit as heartbroken when Minato died as S.E.E.S. had been, to her surprise. They’d bonded over their grief much in a similar way to how Mitsuru connected with Yukari. ‘Uh, maybe not quite to that extent,’ Mitsuru corrected her thoughts. Mitsuru got on quite well with Toriumi. 

She moved out of the way to let her speak her piece.

“Hello, I’m Miss Toriumi.” Toriumi bowed gracefully at the podium. “I’ll be the new principal. This is a step forward for me that I’m excited to make. I’ve been the composition, literature and English teacher at Gekkoukan High since 2008. My background is in teaching, so I intend to be a hands-on principal. I’ll support the staff any way I can.” She stepped to the side and let Mitsuru take her place at the podium. 

“We’ll now be taking questions.”

A stout, angry-looking man raised his hand first. “I didn’t send my child to this school only for it to change administrations in the middle of the year. Will I be able to get my tuition back?”

Mitsuru was about to answer, but Toriumi motioned that she’d take it. “Sir, no offense, but the old principal, uh, he died. Your question implies he got fired.”

The man didn’t respond, and Mitsuru couldn’t help but chuckle. Having a composition teacher at a press conference had its perks. The man still looked irritated, but he sat back down. 

A reporter asked a question next. “Suguru Kamoshida gave his confession in April, and he has yet to be convicted despite the evidence piling up against him. Have the police reached out for witness testimony?”

Mitsuru didn’t have a sufficient answer to that question. She knew they hadn’t, and she didn’t know why. “The police have not reached out for eyewitness testimony from any students. We will cooperate with any sort of investigation. However, it has been made clear that they intend on dragging this case out as long as possible.” She sighed. “I don’t want to sound like I’m calling them out. They could be ensuring they have all of the evidence before they take him to trial, but what they have should be more than enough for a life sentence. No matter how much remorse Kamoshida shows, he deserves to face severe punishment for his crimes.”

Another reporter raised their hand, and another angry parent followed. The reporter went first, earning an angry glare from the parent. 

“What significant changes can be expected?” 

The reporter directed their question at Mitsuru. “The most significant change coming will be the return of clubs besides volleyball. In what dialogue I’ve had with students, there were many who felt displaced. As it currently stands, we only have a garden club and a student newspaper, each with one member each because all student club funds were diverted towards the volleyball team at the behest of the former principal.”

The reporter nodded and the other angry parent, a woman near Mitsuru’s height but much larger around, stood up, not happy that she’d been passed over. “How can you stand there and be so sure that Kamoshida is guilty?”   
“Excuse me?” The woman wilted under Mitsuru’s glare but regained her composure. 

“Your main concern should be the Phantom Thieves.” The woman wasn’t saying the other part out loud for fear of sounding stupid, Mitsuru was sure.

“That is of my concern. Had you asked about that, I would have told you about that. Instead, you chose to question a man who has confessed to his crimes’ guilt? Some of his victims are in the room with you right now.”

The rest of the questioning was much less pointed. Mitsuru hadn’t intended to instill fear into some of the parents, but apparently, she had. 

===

Makoto’s father had taken to having Goro around. He’d long faced the same problems Ren had when it came to being outnumbered by women, and he was more than happy to share stories of the old days when he was still a cop. Goro listened with rapt attention while Makoto studied. Her mother would occasionally roll her eyes, but she’d be lying if she didn’t appreciate having someone that could get Takeo talking about the past without him taking on a thousand-yard stare. 

Takeo was telling one of many stories about stupid criminals he’d arrested. They were his favorites to tell, although the rest of the Niijima family had heard them all by now.

“This happened my first day back after Makoto was born,” Takeo told Goro. “Mind you, I’m still in high spirits, because, well, new baby and all. Helps that she’s cute as a button.” He looked over towards a bookshelf, but Makoto glared him down.

“No baby pictures.”

“But-”

Makoto refused to hear his protest. “I said no.”

“Anyway, my partner and I come across this guy in Shibuya selling some weird thing he calls a Holy Stone. In and of itself, that’s not a crime, but the guy starts actin’ really shady when we start questioning him. I wasn’t even harassing, just making small talk. It was a slow day. I was bored, and he seemed interesting.” He lifted a small cup off the table. “About the size of this glass, but shaped like a diamond and smooth. That’s how the stone looked. Well, he thinks we’re coming after him and starts to bolt when he trips, and the fu-”

His wife clears her throat.

“Uh, sorry.” He shrugs. “The stone just shatters into little tiny pieces. Ended up being a guy selling rock salt-”

Makoto had heard the story a million times, so she wasn’t about to stick around until the end. She had a proper out when her phone rang from a number she didn’t have saved.

She answered the phone. “This is Makoto.”

“Hi, Niijima-senpai. This is Keiko Miyahara. How are you?”

Makoto hadn’t expected a business call on a Monday night, but then she remembered there was a school board meeting tonight. She probably should have been there. “I’m well, just listening to my father ramble on about the golden years.” She glanced in his direction, and he shrugged. She rolled her eyes. 

“He’s a cop, right?” 

“He was. Might be one again.” He yelled something about being retired and letting Sae earn the money, but Makoto ignored him. “What can I help you with?”

“I was at the board meeting tonight, and Kirijo mentioned you’d have a larger role in helping her shape the school. Has she spoken to you about it?”

“Uh. This is the first I’m hearing of it.” Makoto expected there to be more Phantom Thief influence, or Shadow Ops, or whatever the whole collective wanted to call themselves, with Kirijo purchasing the school. She didn’t expect to be in charge of anything extra. “But I’m appreciative of the opportunity as long as it doesn’t interfere with my studies. Who’s the new principal?” 

“Miss Toriumi. She was a composition teacher at Gekkoukan,” Keiko said. “I won’t ask any more questions. I don’t need the story until Monday, anyway. Maybe talk to Kirijo first.”

“Thanks. I’ll do that.” She hung up the phone, and fired off a text.

**Makoto:** did mitsuru tell any of you that I’d be helping out with the school?

**Minako:** no but that sounds like her

**Makoto:** what happens if I tell her no

**Minato:** if you’re me or Minako? Nothing.

**Makoto:** what if you’re me?

**Minato:** Execution, probably

**Futaba:** don’t worry Makoto, I won’t let her kill you

**Futaba:** I’ve got her nudes

**Minato:** same

**Kana:** I’m in this chat.

**Minato:** probably not best way for you to learn that I dated Mitsuru before Yukari

**Kana:** You’re two ex girlfriends are the star of featherman and fucking Mitsuru Kirijo

**Makoto:** you aren’t helping

**Kana:** is your dick made of gold or something?

**Futaba:** I can find out

**Ren:** Futaba no

**Futaba:** too late

**Futaba:** minato you really need a password stronger than haremfucker249 on your iCloud

**Minako:** Is that really his pass?

**Futaba:** no

**Minato:** My dick isn’t made of gold. I’m just a good person

**Minako:** His other ex girlfriend was his composition teacher

**Makoto:** like the composition teacher from Gekkoukan?

**Minako:** yes. 

**Minato:** We never dated, just played games together

**Minako:** and sexted

**Minato:** I never once did that

**Kana:** I didn’t know what i was getting into

**Rio:** tbh I’m more interested in the dick made of gold

**Kana:** you’re sitting right next to me

**Rio:** And?   
**Kana:** I have a reach advantage, and a weight advantage.

**Rio:** Akira will protect me

**Kat:** my doggy is not a guard dog!

**Shiho:** can we get back to the golden dick

**Makoto:** can we get back to finding out wtf Mitsuru is dragging me into

**Ann:** shiho is there something I need to know

**Ren:** wait. Minato, did you fuck Yamagishi?

**Minako:** he did.

**Ren:** She’s so sweet and innocent tho

**Kasumi:** 1) we need to know about the golden dick 2) Ren you’re dating my sister, the queen of sweet and innocent.

**Sumire:** KASUMI. That was really sweet thank you.

**Minato:** what about all the guys Minako dated

**Minato:** Should I bring up Ken?

**Minako:** THAT WASNT WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE

**Minato:** big-titty onee-san

**Minako:** Fucking asshole

**Makoto:** uh. I still want an answer to my question

**Tae:** let’s get back to the golden dick

**Tae:** for uh, medical purposes

**Ren:** Dr. Legs

**Tae:** I say we have Ren executed in Makoto’s place

===

Rise wished she could be as happy as Yu to have Yosuke crashing their apartment. ‘Is it really even crashing? We’re all here on the same mission.’ Yosuke quit his job and moved to Tokyo because without Junes, he had zero reasons to stay in Inaba. 

It just sucked never getting any alone time with her boyfriend. Yosuke never left the apartment, and when Yu got off work, he monopolized all of her boyfriend’s time.

Rise had enough of coming in second. She decided. She was going to grab Yu by the ear and drag him to bed if it was the last thing she did.

She walked into the living area and lost her nerve. When she joined the Investigation Team, she thought Yu was her super-cool senpai, but she’d learned it was more than that. He was handsome, sure. But he was also a giant dork, a great boyfriend, and a fantastic friend.

Rise overheard bits and pieces of the discussion he was having with Yosuke, who told Yu he had been struggling to find purpose after quitting his job.

‘Maybe I can stop being needy for just one night.’ She went back to their room. She could talk to Yu tomorrow.

===

_ Tuesday, June 28, Morning _

Minato had some bruises when he got to school that morning. He received no sympathy from Kana. 

She saw the humor in the situation at least, and Minato appreciated that she wasn’t put off by his extensive history. 

“I’ll take the victory that you haven’t dated anyone in eight years, and you chose me.” It was oddly sweet. “I can’t believe you got beat up by your sister.”

That brief moment of security was put to the test within seconds of them reaching the school together. Miss Toriumi stood outside the school greeting students as they came in.

“Minato!” Before he could say anything, she gave him a quick hug. Kana didn’t care, from what Minato could tell. 

“It’s good to see you,” Minato said, not ignorant of the stares he was getting from classmates. He pointed at Kana. “This is my girlfriend, Kana.” 

“Nice to meet you,” Kana said. 

Toriumi was one of the first people Minato spoke to after he returned from the dead. Well, he’d technically spoken to Ken and gotten blown off by Maiko, but Toriumi was the first person to actually talk to him.

“You follow me here on purpose?”   
She laughed and shook her head. “I’ve been waiting for the right opportunity to leave Gekkoukan for a long time. I figured you were involved when Mitsuru asked me to move.”

“Well, good luck on your first day,” Minato said. “I’ve got class.”

They entered the building, first walking towards Kana’s classroom. 

“She seems nice.”

Minato nodded. “It seems like nothing has changed with her.”

“Is it weird having your old teacher here?” Kana asked.

“No. I’m surprised she stayed at Gekkoukan for so long. She hated it there.”

===

_ Evening _

Rise came home from work later than usual that day. Her media appearance had run over, which was a typical annoyance. It was less annoying today, though, because she was surrounded by children who were all starstruck. One of the best feelings was knowing she could make somebody’s day just by showing up. Going above and beyond was easy with kids, too. A short conversation, maybe signing an autograph, and they’d be on their way, thrilled they got to meet an idol. 

So, she was in high spirits when she entered the apartment to find Yu and Yosuke arguing over a puzzle on Breath of the Wild. “Senpai, can you come here for a minute?” 

Yosuke laughed. “I still can’t believe she calls you that.”

“Does your girlfriend call you any embarrassing names?”

Yosuke made a show of grasping his chest. “Low blow. I’m hurt.”

Yu handed Yosuke the controller and followed Rise into the bedroom.

“How was your day?”

“Great. We need to talk about Yosuke.” She wanted to get it out of the way.

Yu looked startled. “About what, exactly?”

“He’s monopolizing all your time.” 

“Oh.” Yu furrowed his brow. “I can see that being a problem.” Rise had a clingy streak a mile long, so it made sense she was feeling left out. 

“I’m not asking that he go away, but all he does is sulk and all you do is console him. Has he tried getting a job?” 

Yu nodded. “He’s applied to a bunch of different places. His degree is kind of worthless though.”

“What’s it in?”

“Drinking 30 beers at a time, puking, then drinking another 15,” Yu answered. “I think psychology and business.”

“How- wait, were you drinking like that, too?”

Yu gave a guilty shrug.

“I’ll ask around,” Rise said. “Maybe I can find him something, and we can finally just be alone for a bit.”

“We could be alone right now,” Yu said in a suggestive tone.

Rise rolled her eyes. “Go play with your boyfriend.”

===

_ Wednesday, June 29, Afternoon _

“Ken, you’ve been in Tokyo for a literal week and you’ve made no attempt at being around anyone other than Koromaru.”

Ken knew Mitsuru would start getting on him about this eventually. They weren’t planning on returning to Iwatodai until Saturday, and he was hoping to just ride it out. He now wished he had made an effort to at least hang out with Minato-san or Yukari-san, but he didn’t want to see Minako at all. She had a smothering presence, he thought, although nobody else agreed with him. Unfortunately, his excuse of not wanting to be around Minako wasn’t enough to stop Mitsuru from forcing him to go see her at work.

“She’s grown up, Ken,” Mitsuru said.

“I hope so, Mitsuru-san, given she’s seven years older than me,” Ken huffed. 

He entered LeBlanc against his will, the bell chiming. It was a comfortable, charming cafe that would have been a great place to study if Minako wasn’t standing behind the counter next to an old man wearing a pink shirt, who was laughing at something stupid Minako undoubtedly said. The old man greeted while Ken’s sworn enemy wiped down the counter.

“Good afternoon. Welcome!”

“Hello,” Ken said, and took a seat at the counter. Minako looked up when she heard the voice and lit up like a Christmas tree.

“Ken!” She practically bolted around the counter and wrapped him in a hug so tight he could barely move. He was still a bit scrawny for an 18-year-old, and Minako was stronger than she looked.

“Minako-san, you’re hurting me.” 

Sojiro laughed. “I take it you know this kid?”

“This is Ken!” Ken felt guilty not wanting to see her when he saw how happy she was. “I basically raised him.”

Ken frowned. 

“I can tell he’s happy to see you by the pouting.”

“Ken’s always like that, but I know he loves me.” Minako’s attitude was always so sunny, Ken thought. He shared Minato’s sulking nature. “Where’s Koromaru?”

“Mitsuru-san wouldn’t let me bring him. She said I’d use him as an excuse to not visit.”

Sojiro chuckled. “All the men in your life look at you the same way I look at Ren. No wonder you can’t keep a boyfriend.”

“What’s that supposed to mean!?”

“You’re a nuisance,” Ken said. 

“Smart kid,” Sojiro said. “Hey, Minako. Let’s trade. You take Ren. I’ll take Ken. I might get some peace and quiet.”

“Oh, please,” Minako said with a frown. “You’d be so bored without me and Ren here. I’m just trying to help Ken stop being a stick in the mud.”

“Ha! I had a full head of hair before the kid moved in here,” Sojiro joked.

Ken looked up. “Are you serious?”

“No.” Sojiro laughed. “Maybe she’s right about you being a stick in the mud.”

Ken didn’t respond, opting to pout instead.

“Jeez, kid. That shell of yours might be a foot thick.”

“Thicker,” Minako said. “Talk to him about school.”

“I’m sitting right here,” Ken said.

MInako set a cup in front of him. “Yeah, and it’s awkward. Try this. I know you like Chagall. This is better.”

Ken took a sip and agreed. It was much better than the coffee he was used to. He did eventually open up a little, telling Minako about finding her brother on the rooftop that day, then explaining how he still aced his finals.

She was genuinely proud of him, and Ken would be lying if he said he didn’t at least kind of miss Minako. 

He was thinking of apologizing for his surly attitude when the bell chimed. LeBlanc would be alive with students after school got out but it was still early. Instead, a balding, middle-aged man in a suit barged through the door. Ken didn’t think he was here for coffee.

“Welcome!” Sojiro greeted him like he was here for coffee anyway. “How can I help you?”

“I’m looking for Sae Niijima,” the man said. He looked angry, Ken thought. “I’ve been told she’s a regular here.”

“Never heard of her,” Sojiro lied. “Only people that come in here are the kid’s friends.” 

The balding man heard that and took Ken in his sights, about to ask him a question, but the bell chimed and in bounded a small Shiba Inu puppy that reminded Ken so much of Koromaru.

“Akira! Get your ass back here!” An unusual head of bright pink hair followed the puppy. “Sir! I am so sorry!”

Akira started gnawing on the hem of the man’s slacks and growling. The girl picked up the puppy and it started barking. “Akira, you have to calm your tits.”

“What kind of establishment allows animals?”

“I don’t,” Sojiro grumbles. “Damn kids.” 

The girl stuck her tongue out at him. “We keep you young.” She looked at the balding man. “You a cop? If you’re a cop, you gotta tell me.”

“The insolence!” The man raised his voice. “I’m the head of the SIU and I demand respect!”

“Hey, bro, I think that’s where my friend’s dad went to college. What you doing in Japan?”

“Kat,” Minako said. “That’s the name of a government agency.”

“Oh.” She looked at the man. “So it’s not Southern Idaho University?”

“What?” The man shook his head. “I’m getting nowhere!” He bolted out the door with his head down. 

Kat, apparently the girl’s name, sat next to Ken. “Wanna meet my dog?” She was still holding the puppy on her lap. “This is Akira. He, uh, doesn’t like cops.”

Ken patted the dog on the head. He seemed like a happy little guy, and Ken was suddenly wishing he’d brought Koromaru with him. “He seems like a good boy.”

“He’s the best.” Kat ordered a cup of coffee. “Where’s everyone else?”

“It’s Wednesday,” Minako rolled her eyes. “We don’t work on Wednesdays.” 

“Oh, fuck me, dude.” Kat smacked her forehead. “I thought it was Thursday.” 

Was this girl one of the Phantom Thieves? Ken couldn’t imagine relying on her for anything. She reminded him of Shinjiro-san, in a way. Maybe that was because she seemed shady.

“Can I smoke in here?” Sojiro was about to say yes when Minako interrupted.

“Absolutely not in front of Ken.” Ken blushed.

“Damn.” Kat didn’t look sad for more than a few seconds because Akira tried to steal a few drinks of her coffee. “Damn it!”

Much to Ken’s disgust, she continued to drink the coffee, dog germs and all. ‘I cannot believe this girl is a Phantom Thief.’

“Hey,” he jumped, not expecting to be addressed. He was lost in thought while holding Akira so Kat could drink her coffee in peace. “You’re cute. Wanna go out?”

Ken’s face was redder than Koromaru’s eyes. Minako laughed until she cried.

“Uh,” Ken couldn’t think of a reason to say no except for literally everything he’d seen of her since he’d met her just 20 minutes ago. “I’m in Tokyo for a few more days. Why not?”

When Minako finally calmed down, she asked if she could follow them with a camera for their date.

Ken said no. Kat said yes. 

===

_ Evening _

“I’m concerned that you even know about me.” Adachi had ventured into the real world only to be accosted by a balding man who was definitely a lawyer. Adachi wasn’t a fan. 

“I believe we have a mutual enemy.”

“Uh,” Adachi thought about it. He didn’t really have an enemy. He had people he liked to antagonize. “I think you’ve mistaken me for somebody else.”

“So, you aren’t the Tohru Adachi from the Foggy Day Murders?” 

Adachi looked away from the man’s analyzing gaze. “Even if I was, I wouldn’t tell you.” 

“I’m offering a lot of money for this job.” The man stood firm, and wouldn’t let Adachi get away with just walking off. 

And to think Adachi just wanted his cabbage soup. “How much?”

“A million yen.” The man sounded like Dr. Evil. 

“What’s the job?”

“I need a mental shutdown.”

“And a grocery store quickserve department is the place to talk about this.” 

“I need a yes or no.” The man wouldn’t go away. 

“Fine.” The man handed him a piece of notebook paper with a name and details written on it, then walked away. Adachi threw it in the nearest trash bin. “I’m nobody’s assassin.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe this story has gotten so ridiculously long. This chapter marks 50 chapters. I'm trying to pick up the pace, and luckily no Futaba's palace and summer break allows me to skip over some things here and there. Plus, I'm back ahead on chapters, so I actually have a bit of an idea what's happening in the next couple.
> 
> Poor Ken. Or not poor Ken. Or something. Kat is again fulfilling her purpose of making people uncomfortable. That, however, does not occur in the next chapter. Chapter 51 is short, not because of time constraints, but because a lot happens in 3500 words and I didn't want to take away from what I have written by following it with what will almost definitely be ridiculous comedy. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	51. The Barren Casino

_ Thursday, June 30, Early Morning _

Gone were the days of Sae working 12 hours straight. Mitsuru was adamant in her belief that nobody was more productive in 12 hours than they were in 7. It had only been a week, but Sae agreed. She felt like she was making actual headway into an investigation as to which police force members were complicit in Shido’s plot. Police Chief Tsunoda was the first significant domino to fall.

His online behavior was shockingly easy to track. It was disturbing to find out he was a believer in some strange conspiracy that members of the opposing party were drinking the blood of aborted babies or something. Sae didn’t know, and she didn’t want to know. Considering Tsunoda was a prominent piece in the Shido conspiracy cogs, it made things even stranger. He was part of a literal conspiracy involving a literal shadow world. 

‘To be fair, there’s an alternate universe that can either be used for mental shutdowns or stealing hearts that’s been taken advantage of by both a political party and a radical gang of teenagers and their immature gymnastics coach friend and their leggy counter-culture doctor friend. Isn’t everything viable?’

She jotted down “potentially performing ritual sacrifice using aborted babies” somewhere in her notebook, just in case. 

Sae hoped she’d never have to conduct such a strange investigation again. 

Her mind wandered elsewhere, briefly. Tsunoda was one of the people her father named in relation to the death of Aiyumi Nakagawa. Sae would feel some personal guilt if she hadn’t at least explained to Tae that she was attempting to take down one of the perpetrators of her friend’s murder.

‘Maybe today is a good day to get acquainted with my palace.’

===

_ Lunchtime _

The Phantom Thieves had gathered on the roof as they did every lunch period. It’d gotten to the point where they’d known each other well enough that there wasn’t much to talk about, but there was some buzz going about an announcement Toriumi made that morning. Clubs and non-volleyball sports would be returning, leading to a few kids excitedly talking about what they wanted to see.

Minato and Ryuji were both ecstatic over the potential return of the track team. Souji desperately wanted a school soccer team, although he wasn’t sure there’d be many other players besides him. Ren offered to try out, despite not knowing anything about soccer. 

“I can at least run from place to place. How hard can it be?”

He hadn’t meant to insult Souji, but he had. Souji scowled while Kasumi argued with him that soccer really wasn’t that hard. Ren was surprised Souji didn’t break up with her on the spot.

Goro was excited to seek out an elected position on the new student school board, jokingly telling Makoto that he would steal her seat. She was about to retort when someone approached the roof.

“I knew I’d find you here.” The new principal pushed through the doorway and noted all the kids on the roof. “I was told the roof is off-limits.”

“Uh, it is,” Minato said. “Most of us aren’t exactly welcome in the rest of the school.”

“I won’t say anything,” she reassured. “The same people that warned me the roof was dangerous are the same people that tried to convince me you guys were some kind of gang.”

“Technically not wro-”

“Shut up, dear,” Sumire said, clamping a hand over Ren’s mouth. 

He said something muffled that sounded like “domestic terrorism is the only path towards-” before Rio reached over and smacked him on the back of the head.

“Nobody thinks you’re funny.” 

“I thought it was funny,” Shiho said. 

Ann scoffed. “Good thing nobody thinks you’re funny either.” 

Kasumi opened her mouth like she was about to say something, but it only took a glance from her sister for her to know she should be quiet. Sumire had won their most recent fight handily, and Kasumi was still licking her wounds.

Minato cleared his throat. “Anyway, do you need something?” 

“I’ve been trying to introduce myself to the students without calling any assembly,” Toriumi said. “Everyone else was in the cafeteria.”

Minato went around the room introducing the Phantom Thieves to the new principal. It was a polite engagement, and they went right back to their normal conversation as soon as she left. Before she walked away, she leaned into Minato and asked him quietly. “Is this more S.E.E.S. stuff?”

He jumped a little, then nodded.

“Good to know.”

Toriumi exited the rooftop.

“Is the coast clear?” Kat was hiding behind one of the vents holding a piece of glass with a bowl in the middle and a long stem on the side.

“Are you really doing that at school?” Kana said incredulously.

“Dude, I got a date tomorrow, and I’m nervous as shit. I’d rather be stony baloney than freaking out in class.”

Kana rolled her eyes. “Sure. Who the fuck would go on a date with you?”

“Dunno. His name’s Ken.” Kat shrugged. “He was at LeBlanc with Minako.”

“Ken Amada?” Minato barely got out before he started laughing.

“Yeah! That was the name.”

Nobody asked why Minato was laughing so hard.

===

_ After School _

Ren returned to LeBlanc that afternoon to find Wakaba and Minako harassing Sojiro about his girlfriend.

“You two have been together for weeks now, and you still won’t tell me anything about her!” It was the closest to mad Ren had ever seen Wakaba. She was still smiling, though, knowing she was getting to Sojiro.

“Yeah, Sojiro,” Minako scolded. “You’re so interested in my love life. Why don’t we talk about yours for a change?”

“I could tell you all about it, for a fee,” Futaba interjected, earning a disapproving glare from her mom.

“How much?” Minako asked. Wakaba then pinched her. “Ow!” Then Minako whispered in Futaba’s direction. “Seriously, though.”

Ren interjected. “I’m curious, but not curious enough to pay.”

“I feel betrayed.” Minako pouted. 

The atmosphere shifted as soon as Ren entered the room. “We waiting on Sae?”

“And Makoto. Goro can’t come,” Futaba said. “Tae needs him to work reception.”

Makoto walked in soon after, with Sae bringing up the rear. Makoto looked unusually disheveled.

“Hey. Futaba.” Ren spoke carefully.

“Yes, Ren?”

“Were you spying on Goro?”

“I plead the fifth.”

Sae held the bridge of her nose and spoke without greeting. “That’s an American thing.”

“Congrats on the sex, Queen.”

Nobody acknowledged Futaba, and they made their way towards the courthouse silently. When it came to Futaba, anything they said could and would be held against them. 

They sat in the lobby of the closed Kirijo offices because of it’s proximity to the courthouse. It was only a block walk, and the casino was a sight to behold. Sae would probably enjoy seeing it.

“Ready?” Makoto asked her sister. “Once we’re over there, we all go by codenames, just in case.”

Sae nodded. “Ready as I’ll ever be. Do I have a codename?”

“Makoto is Queen, so you could be Princess.” Wakaba’s words prodded at Sae.

“Absolutely not,” Sae grumbled. 

“Judge?” Ren asked.

Sae shook her head. “Too on the nose.” 

“This is your only trip in, right?” Futaba asked. “I’m just calling you noob. No reason to waste time coming up with a code name.”

To everyone else’s surprise, Sae agreed. “That works for me.”

The world turned it’s typical red and black. Then the sky turned purple.

Sae couldn’t look away from the half-lit ruins of what was once her palace.

“This is new.”

Ren and Makoto shot Minako a look.

“What? It is!”

“You could at least try and be a little more sensitive,” Makoto admonished. 

Sae took in her surroundings. Greenery grew through the cracks in the sidewalk while the materials that once made up the Casino of Envy succumbed to the nature around it. 

“I think the question is whether or not it’s her heart or the distortion that’s decaying.” Wakaba looked as confused and concerned as Ren did.

“It’s the distortion, right?” Queen was more worried than Sae. Sae wasn’t even sure this strange world was real. 

“Sae, you stay back with me and Oracle.” Joker motioned for Makoto and Minako to move ahead. “Queen and Ares can lead us through. I think we’ll have our answer if we push our way through.”

The last time Joker saw the casino, it was so packed with cognitions he couldn’t walk through the front door. The lack of shadows and cognitions was unnerving. Only half of the giant neon sign in front was lit up, reading “CAS.” The “INO” part was visible if Joker looked hard enough, but the casino’s dystopic atmosphere prevented him from focusing on any one part for too long.

“Oracle, how’s the security level?”

Oracle had a habit of adjusting her glasses even though it wasn’t necessary. Her goggles never moved from their place on her face. “I’m getting nothing. I’m getting some shadow readings from deeper inside, but they don’t seem agitated.”

“I guess we head deeper,” Ares said. 

Joker nodded. 

The last time Joker had gone through the front entrance, he flew through the stained glass window above it. He wished he had proof or a video of it because it was by far the coolest thing he’d ever done. ‘Well, maybe shooting god in the face was cooler.’ He’d done that so many times, he forgot how incredible that truly was. 

The ambiance inside the casino matched that of the outside, with the same weeds creeping through the cracks in the sidewalk now growing up and down the walls. The walls weren’t completely covered, but there was a definite sense that nature was taking back the building. What surprised Joker more was the flowers. This apparently confused and surprised Wakaba, as well.

“Did you know plants could grow in the metaverse?”

He had never checked. “I didn’t.” Joker moved closer to the walls, less out of a need to sneak and more out of curiosity. Out of the walls and with the ivy grew flowers with yellow petals, with white underneath. “Huh. Daffodils.”

“Daffodils?” Sae gave a confused look. “Are the flowers important?”

“They’re symbolic of a new beginning,” Joker said. “Rebirth, maybe.”

“Basically, you stopped being a dickhead and your palace got over-run with daffodils,” Ares said. “This is kind of amazing, though.” 

They made it to the secondary room in hopes they could make it to the member’s floor. They’ve yet to run into any shadows, but Oracle was getting readings on the second floor. Joker hit the button, surprised when the elevator doors opened and even more surprised when the elevator worked. He hadn’t scoped out the emergency exits of the place, so he assumed a non-working elevator would be a dead end. 

The member’s floor was more of the same, although they didn’t need a card to enter it this time. Joker assumed the palace read that they had Sae with them and waived the need for it. Either that, or there was no need for a member’s card. Something gutted the casino of its gambling equipment. The palace’s second floor made him sad, in a way. The bottom floor was overgrown, but the machines and trappings were still there. The second floor was completely abandoned in a way that looked like the shadows looted the place. 

Sae noticed Joker’s concerned look. “Is this different, too?”

Joker nodded. “It’s weird to be nostalgic for a place that almost always led to me getting arrested and beaten half to death.”

Daffodils still riddled the room. Plywood boards covered the doors that would typically lead to games, so exploration wasn’t a possibility.

“Oracle, can we still go up?”

A screen popped up in front of her. “Three shadows on the floor above. They’re weak.”

They took the elevator to the final floor, and in front of the door where the scales of justice stood three cognitions, not shadows. The cognitions didn’t react to the new bodies in the room.

A young girl with brown hair tucked back with a braided headband, a middle-aged man with black hair that was just starting to grey, and a woman with blue hair wearing a cap, blue shirt, and black slacks stood before them. 

“Shirogane?” Joker looked around at the group. 

Ares shrugged. “They do work together a lot.” 

Sae lowered her head in embarrassment. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had friends.” 

“Let’s be honest, if I had a palace, Sumire and Kasumi would probably be in there somewhere and I’ve only known them for a few months,” Ares said. “I can’t judge.”

“I’ve only known Joker since April,” Queen said. “I don’t think any of us can judge you. Life was different before.”

“Everything has certainly changed,” Sunny said. She walked closer to the cognitions. They seemed to be waiting around for something or someone. “Excuse me.”

Makoto’s shadow turned around and bowed in greeting. Joker noticed it was still the overly polite, meek Makoto he had met at the semester’s start. “Do you need something?”

“We’re just curious what you’re up to,” Sunny said politely. 

The cognition instead looked past Sunny and looked right at Sae. “Sis!” Queen recognized a tone of voice that was explicitly her own. She couldn’t remember the last time she sounded so scared. The cognition ran right past everyone and straight for Sae. “You’re okay.” The cognitive Makoto wrapped Sae in a tight hug, burying her cognitive face in her real sister’s chest.

“We were so worried,” the cognition of her father said. 

“About what?” Sae never thought she’d be in a situation where, well. She wouldn’t go into specifics. Her thoughts were racing at the sheer irregularity of everything happening around her.

The cognition of Naoto spoke her first words. “That’s not our Sae.” 

“Well, technically she is,” Ares said. Joker shot her a look. “What? I assumed we’d just have her do that ‘You’re not me!’ thing that Kat did.”

“Bruh,” Oracle interjected. “Big reading coming from behind that door.” She pointed at the door that usually led to the Scales of Justice bridge. 

Joker drew his gun as the cognitions jumped out of the way, and the door blew open. A grotesque figure burst through the door, Sae Niijima’s shadow stuck in the middle of her metamorphosis into her monster form. The right arm had exploded into an amalgam of weaponry and explosives, while the left arm, chest, and head remained the done-up, tattooed Shadow Sae. Below the chest was a series of black steel mechanisms akin to a mech. 

Sae’s shadow tried to fight off the transformation to no avail, as the rest of her body succumbed to the steel attempting to cover it. 

“Take cover!” Joker yelled at the real Sae while Queen, Ares, and Sunny took battle positions. Leviathan fired rockets at the party, of which Ares took the brunt. She grit her teeth. The monster hit harder than she expected. 

Joker countered while Ares had the beast distracted, calling for Black Frost and casting Bufudyne in its general direction, doing damage but not slowing it down. Leviathan’s attack on Ares shifted gears towards Joker, allowing Ares to call for Cybele. A myriad of arrows pierced the monster, slowing its attack in time for Sunny to heal everyone and Queen to cast a nuclear attack.

A final blow from Ares’ naginata knocked off the helmet. The monster slowly turned back into Sae’s standard shadow form. 

“She shoots, she scores!” Joker shouted in celebration, only for Ares to jab the butt end of the naginata into his ribs.

“It’s not a hockey stick. Ass.”

Joker rubbed his sore ribs. “You didn’t need to be a dick about it.”

“Uh, guys?” Oracle interrupted. “You watching the shadow?”

Sae’s shadow form was lying on the ground, despondent. Joker hadn’t seen a shadow in actual tears before. It sounded like she was saying something like “I tried…” but he couldn’t make it out between the wails.

“Her energy is spiking again,” Oracle warned. “Don’t get close.”

That was Sunny’s cue to do the exact opposite of what her daughter said. She’d never seen a shadow in such a state either.

“Mom! Seriously!” Oracle’s warnings became frantic. “She could-”

“Hush, dear.” Sunny walked closer. “I don’t think she wanted to fight.”

“Obviously!” Oracle gave a frustrated grunt at her orders being ignored.

Sunny approached the face down, tearful shadow and sat down next to her. “These tattoos are pretty cool.” The shadow didn’t respond. “I think-”

The real Sae walked over and stood next to Sunny. “Let me try.” She assumed nobody would know better about handling her own sadness.

“Come on.” Sae grabbed her shadow-self’s arm and started lifting her to her feet. 

Unnerving as it was to see her own shadow, it was even stranger to see her makeup not run through the tears. Apparently, the winged eyeliner wasn’t something the shadow could remove.

“Did something happen?”

The shadow hiccupped and looked at her human self. “I tried-” another hiccup- “I was warned not to interfere-”

“Interfere with what?”

The shadow seemed to have calmed, or at least the hiccups went away. “A golden man attacked me.” She swallowed hard. “I could feel myself disappearing.”

Joker interrupted. “That’s how it usually goes.”

The shadow shook her head. “No. I wasn’t defeated. I was told to behave or be wiped from existence.”

“That would have killed Sae.” Sunny muttered to herself. 

“I didn’t dare go against that order.” The shadow shuttered. 

Sae shrugged. “Wakaba, is this what you meant by the ‘true self?’”

Futaba answered instead. “It is.”

“I can’t believe I was so obsessed with just following orders that it created this place,” Sae said with a chuckle. “I was convinced the rules were fair. It just so happened those ‘fair rules’ always led to me winning.”

Her shadow gave her a peculiar glance.

“What’s winning worth if I didn’t work for it?” She sighed. “You’re definitely me, though. I can see that.”

This time, the shadow dissipated into a yellow light that went straight into Sae’s heart. It would have been a moment for celebration if there wasn’t a sarcastic round of applause coming from a singular figure behind them.

“That was beautiful.” A mid-height, black-haired man with a slight slump in his posture approached them from behind. “I’ve never actually gotten to see that before.”

“Adachi!”

“Yu told you about me? I’m touched.” Adachi gave a discomforting laugh. “We’ve been through a lot together.” Joker had his hand on his gun, but Adachi waved him off. “I’m not here to fight anyone. Not you guys, at least.”

“Then what do you want?”

“Entertainment, which you’ve provided.” Adachi rubbed the back of his head. “I was tasked with performing a mental shutdown on Sae Niijima.”

“Kaida?” Sae didn’t know anyone else who was after her.

He raised an eyebrow. “Guy didn’t give me a name. I wasn’t going to do it anyway. I figured I’d come here, fake a fight, pretend I wasn’t strong enough, and take the bastard’s money. Actually, that’s still what I plan on doing.”

They each had a million questions, but Adachi wasn’t about to stick around for them. He walked away, waving bye. “I’m sure I’ll see you guys again soon. Tell Yu I said hi.”

“Uh, we’ll do that,” Joker replied. 

They’d made most of their walk back in silence, basking in the palace’s eerie silence.

“I know Adachi killed the vibe,” Ares said. “But can we acknowledge Sae’s dominatrix outfit?”

“I was going to call it a super-spy outfit,” Oracle said. 

Sae was dressed in a skin-tight, all-black suit with fewer zippers and less fabric than Ann’s even though it was in the same vein. She silently thanked whoever was in charge of the outfits that she didn’t have a giant boob window, but she really would have preferred to not have an exposed midriff. Her mask fit like a ski mask, but only covered her eyes and cut off under her hairline.

“It’s kind of unfair that all of the women have revealing outfits,” Ares said. “Like, Rio and I don’t, and I suppose Oracle doesn’t. But basically everyone else does.”

Sunny shrugged. “It’s because the outfits are born from your rebellious nature. Society demonizes revealing clothing, so for some of you, revealing clothing is a form of rebellion.”

Ares nodded. “That makes a surprising amount of sense. Anyone think of a codename for Sae yet?”

“Maybe we should have her summon and go based on that,” Joker suggested. 

Sae hadn’t known what to say since she merged with her shadow self, but she felt something stirring in her heart that wasn’t there before. There was an odd feeling where she knew what to do without actually  _ knowing _ it. She tore at her mask and shouted “Leviathan!”

The steel monster they fought just moments before appeared behind her.

“Explosives!” Oracle yelled. “Mom! We can blow shit up now!”

Sunny was the only one not excited by the aspect, although Sae’s feelings were unknown. She was too exhausted to protest.

“Oracle?” Joker stopped walking. “Why isn’t the palace collapsing?”

“That’s-” Oracle half expected the world to start shaking in light of Joker’s jinx. “That’s a very good question.”

“Do palaces usually collapse?”

“After we defeat the shadow and steal the treasure, they always collapse.” They made it to the entrance and exited. Joker continued. “I guess we add this to the mystery pile.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a productive weekend, and I'm officially ahead on chapters again. Wrapping up chapter 53 as I type this, and chapters 54-56 are outlined and ready to go. 
> 
> The pace from here picks up at least a little bit, but I can't help but have bits of fluff here and there. Sae joining the party was a formality that I dragged out for too long at this point. 
> 
> The next chapter starts July, which means I'm at the halfway point. 240k words later. What.


	52. Crush

_ Friday, July 1, Midnight _

Two familiar heartbeats jolted Minako awake. 

“I’m sorry for waking you.” She was no longer alone in her room. A small child wearing a prison outfit sat at the foot of her bed. 

Minako made a noise that she intended to be words, but the sleep hadn’t worn off her voice yet. She eventually muttered the words “fuck off, I’m trying to sleep,” then shook off the sleep to realize she just told Pharos to fuck off. “Ah. Sorry. Not a morning person anymore.”

It was as if she hadn’t said anything. Instead of speaking, he looked around the room.

“You usually appear to let me know somebody’s about to die,” Minako said, sitting up in her bed. 

“Nobody died last time,” Pharos corrected. “Nor did I tell you they would.”

Minako cleared her throat, trying to speak without the raspiness in her voice. “You made it sound like The Fall was coming.”

“The Fall is not to be feared.”

“Huh?”

“Humanity no longer wishes for death, nor does it wish for the ability to give up control.” Minako eyed Pharos as he continued speaking. “Humanity’s wishes have become something far more dangerous. My presence comes as a friendly warning.”

“What is the warning, exactly?”

He disappeared the second she asked.

“I am never having children,” Minako grumbled before laying back in her bed, covering her face with a pillow.

Sleeping after these run-ins with Pharos was a battle Minako was used to losing. She didn’t get any more sleep that night before getting out of bed an hour earlier than usual. 

Minako didn’t feel terrible, all things considered, so she thought she’d head into work earlier and surprise Sojiro by having some of the more irritating tasks done early. She’d improved quickly and could make curry that was a dead ringer for Sojiro, although he still didn’t trust her with the coffee. They could open a bit earlier and bullshit a little with the free time. It would be an excellent way to bounce back from the chaos Pharos caused by his visit. 

Getting ready took Minako longer than usual, but she was still early. She adequately accounted for the groans and frustrating moments that came with not sleeping to get on an earlier train that was empty enough for her to sit down. 

She could have driven, but she didn’t like driving to Yongen-Jaya because of the narrow streets. Minako wasn’t the strongest driver in the first place, and she’d had too many close run-ins with accidents. Trains, somehow, seemed safer. 

Minako made it to Yongen-Jaya, and if she had been paying attention, she probably would have noticed that the cafe’s door shouldn’t have been unlocked at that time of the morning. 

Instead, she was greeted by Sojiro sucking face with a woman who looked like she was digging for gold in his pants. Sojiro looked at her like a deer in headlights.

“Uh,” He stammered as Reiko backed off. “You’re early…”

“Yep.” Minako backed towards the door. “I’m going to go see if Tae has anything to help me forget what I just saw. I’ll be back in exactly 30 minutes. I’ll help you Scotchguard the place.”

“Wait-”

“Nope! I’m just going away now. Don’t worry about me.” Minako sighed and walked out the door. The bell chimed.

She walked over to Tae Takemi’s back-alley clinic, under a block away. Tae was sitting at reception, working diligently at not doing her work. The loud music must be scaring off patients because Minako noticed there were none to be found. It was heavy on bass like it came from a drum machine, and the guitar was low and distorted. Minako’s English was rusty, but she wasn’t sure she’d be able to understand the words even if her English was passable. It sounded like garbled nonsense. 

It took Tae a few seconds to notice Minako staring at her. 

“Uh. It’s exactly what it looks like,” Tae said with a goofy grin.

“I never took you for a morning person,” Minako said. “Where’re the slaves?”

“Getting ready for school.” Tae must’ve answered without thinking. “I provide housing, and all these kids need to do is man reception- oh. That’s literal slavery.”

“They’re good kids,” Minako said. “They’d volunteer regardless.”

“Probably. Anyway, what are you doing here?” Tae absentmindedly clicked her pen to the same beat as the music, which she’d turned down so they could talk.

“Uh, just needed to get away from LeBlanc. I don’t think I’m ever showing up early for work again.”

“Do I want to ask?”

“I walked in on Sojiro and Reiko-chan,” Minako covered her eyes as she said it. “I think they were about to-”

Tae jumped in with a question before Minako could finish. “You didn’t see anything, did you?”

“No. They stopped when I walked in.”

“Damn.” Tae ignored the dirty look she received. “Aren’t you the least bit curious? The old man has game.”

Minako shook her head. “He’s literally old enough to be our grandfather.”

“Hey, man, old people fuck.” Tae chuckled. “You’d be shocked how many times old man Tao comes in because he got too freaky.”

“We desperately need an HR department.”

Tae wore the same small, cocky smile Minako noticed on Rio lately. “Just because you don’t date doesn’t mean everyone else has to avoid it.”

“Uh, we just ignoring the fact that I caught Sojiro doing it in a public place?” Minako tilted her head and made a face. “Like, isn’t there a health department that’d freak out over that?”

“They were still wearing clothes, and he owns the building,” Tae said. “I don’t get how that’s an issue. Besides, I’m almost always against getting the government involved.”

Minako rolled her eyes and tried to steer away from that side of the discussion. 

Tae understood better than most that nobody wanted to have that conversation, so she took the hint. “You know, I never imagined that you’d be the childish one when I joined.”

“I’m not-” Tae didn’t let her finish.

“Face it, Minako. You’re a bit immature.”

“You still dress like you’re about to faint over Owl City!”

“I preferred The Postal Service, but that is valid.” Tae didn’t take any offense to the insult. “I’m just saying, our friends are  _ all  _ high schoolers. Isn’t that fucked?”

Minako nodded.

“We should do something about that,” Tae said. “So, maybe this weekend we get together and go out somewhere like adults normally do. It’ll do us both some good.”

===

_ After School _

Yuuki wasn’t thrilled with Yusuke for leaving him out to dry. They’d made plans with Hifumi they weren’t supposed to be able to get out of, but Yusuke held more fear of his mother than he did of Hifumi.

Maname wanted him to ‘stop ignoring Jiro,’ even though Yusuke was doing nothing of the sort. He’d simply been far too busy to entertain a houseguest. He told Yuuki that had gotten him in even more trouble because Jiro wasn’t a houseguest, or something or other. Yuuki highly doubted Yusuke’s telling of the tale was as insulting and fantastic as he told it. Still, regardless of its validity, he was now on the hook for helping Hifumi expand her horizons. Or something.

Yuuki didn’t know how he felt about it. She was beautiful, Yuuki thought, but she was also a lot to handle. He didn’t have much time to pontificate, though, because Hifumi was coming down the Kosei steps and making a beeline straight for him. 

“Hello, Yuuki,” she greeted cheerfully, if not enthusiastically. “You ready?”

He shrugged. “Uh, I don’t even know where we’re going. Yusuke can’t come.”

“Huh?” She clutched her bag at her side as if going for her phone, but she didn’t reach in. “Right. He told me earlier.”

Yuuki couldn’t put his finger on why that felt dishonest, but he wasn’t about to ask. “Where are we going?”

“A gym.” Hifumi awaited his reaction.

“Uh. I’m just glad you aren’t making me swing a golf club again.” His back was sore for the days following.

“It is important to be multi-faceted. Perhaps, we could work golf back into the rotation-”

Yuuki couldn’t help but stop paying attention. He didn’t know what she was strategizing for, but he was silently cursing Yusuke for leaving him alone with her. 

They did eventually make it to the train station, which took them to Kichijoji. The two entered a gym, and Yuuki realized a misunderstanding he held. 

“When you said ‘gym,’ I assumed we were working out,” Yuuki said. He thought working out might be a good idea. He hadn’t hit the weights since he quit volleyball, and Hifumi had stated multiple times her goal to become more active. 

“Oh.” Hifumi gave a small laugh at the confusion. “Basketball provides a better opportunity for precision than weights do.”

Yuuki wouldn’t argue that. He wasn’t the best volleyball player, but he was even worse in the days following an intense day in the weight room. He was usually too sore, or his muscles were used to the additional weight, and he couldn’t aim where he hit the ball. “I’ve never played.”

“Me neither, but I was up all night last night learning how.”

Yuuki facepalmed. “This isn’t something you can read about and just be good at.”

“Why not?”

He just shook his head as they paid their fee. They grabbed a ball and entered the gym. It was a modern complex with a regulation track around it for anyone who would rather run. He’d probably be a better teacher for that. 

“The baskets are much taller than I anticipated.” Hifumi glared at the hoop analytically. “I may have overestimated my strength.”

Yuuki laughed. “You could always shoot underhand.”

A bystander might have thought he asked her for a pair of her used underwear.

“I will do no such thing!” It wasn’t quite a shout, but it still frightened him. The accompanying glare might have been worse.

She grabbed the ball and tried to hold it up in a textbook shooting form, just to the left of her head, her left arm making an L-shape, the right arm only there to keep the ball from toppling, and all tension in the room went away when she mistimed her jump and release, and the ball dropped to the floor five feet in front of her.

“On the bright side, I think you have the form right,” Yuuki encouraged. “Maybe start a little closer to the basket.” He was impressed that Hifumi didn’t seem embarrassed.

She moved closer to the basket, now around five feet away, and mimicked the same form. This time, the ball hit the top of the rim and fell to the side. “Okay.” She took a breath, picked the ball up, and threw it at Yuuki, who did the least manly thing he’d ever done in his life (and that was a long list of unmanly things he’d done in his life) by crossing his arms as if guarding himself against a hit. The squeal that accompanied didn’t help him save face. The ball wasn’t thrown particularly hard, and Hifumi couldn’t help but let out a giggle. 

“You can ditch me now,” Yuuki said as he chased after the ball, which had bounced back towards the three-point line. 

“It was cute,” Hifumi said, stopping Yuuki in his tracks. 

He glanced in her direction, noticing that stupid demure smile and something he couldn’t read behind her eyes. He picked the ball up and took a shot from where he stood, straight-arming the ball with his right and missing by a country mile. “Well, now we know what doesn’t work. Throwing it like a baseball: Off the list.”

Hifumi giggled again, and they practiced for a bit longer, improving with each shot. 

It was probably for the best, Yuuki thought, that Yusuke couldn’t make it. He might not have had as much fun.

“So, what’s your next crazy plan?” Yuuki asked as they left the gym.

Hifumi gave him a confused looked. “What’s crazy about wanting to learn? This is all for shogi.”

Yuuki looked back with concern. “I don’t see how-”

“You wouldn’t see how, Yuuki-kun.” He didn’t meet her eyes. They were too intimidating. She must’ve noticed. “Sorry. I’m-” Hifumi stammered a little. “I need to get heading home.”

She tried to walk away quickly, but Yuuki reached out for her arm.

“You can talk to me.” He let go when he realized what this looked like. “About whatever’s bothering you, I mean.”

“Thanks, Yuuki.” 

===

Hifumi specifically asked Yusuke to let her and Yuuki hang out alone, and he obliged. He would have had to cancel, anyway, because his mother was adamant that he try and break through Jiro’s shell.

It’d been weeks since the spawn of Madarame moved into their apartment, and they struggled with getting him to do much of anything besides, well, in Maname’s words, bitch and moan about everything. “He certainly inherited  _ that _ from his father,” She’d told Yusuke. He’d heard more about Madarame in the last month than he would have ever wanted. Her hatred for the artist that wrong her didn’t run as deep as Yusuke or Jiro. 

Jiro had since taken a hard turn on his father. The speed at which he moved from grieving to pure hatred was admirable, Yusuke thought. He almost thought it would lead them to bond, but instead, Jiro shut down completely. He refused to leave the apartment, and he wouldn’t speak to Yusuke at all. He’d occasionally have brief interactions with Maname. 

Yusuke wasted his afternoon trying to get Jiro to do anything besides sulk. He hated to waste his time in such a way, but it did spawn an idea.

**Yusuke:** you mentioned Futaba in past timelines before

**Ren:** like, i prefer not to go super deep on it

**Yusuke:** she was a shut in, tho, right?

**Ren:** yep

**Yusuke:** do you think we could change Jiro’s heart?

**Yusuke:** he won’t leave the apartment and he barely eats

**Ren:** Bet we’ll take care of it next time we’re in mementos

**Yusuke:** the sooner the better

**Ren:** Tomorrow?

**Yusuke:** yes. 

His phone buzzed again, as Ren addressed the group chat.

**Ren:** Mementos trip tomorrow

**Kat:** busy

**Kana:** I can’t go

**Minako:** can’t go

**Tae:** made plans with Minako

**Rio:** are you two dating

**Shiho:** they fucking better not be

**Shiho:** also Ann and I are in

**Tae:** so what if we are

**Shiho:** that’s my gimmick

**Minako:** we aren’t going on a date

**Ann:** shiho is actually relieved. 

**Kasumi:** we’ve got practice

**Sumire:** sad

**Goro:** Makoto and I are studying for exams.

**Kasumi:** nerds

===

_ Saturday, July 2, After School _

Ken waited at LeBlanc, expectant of his impending doom at the hands of the dopey-seeming pink-haired girl that asked him out. He wouldn’t pretend she wasn’t cute, but it was evident from her attitude on that day that they were quite the mismatch. He didn’t expect much from this date, but he supposed going back to Iwatodai and telling his friends he’d finally gone on a date for the first time in his life would be a good story to tell. 

“Nervous?” He was broken out of his thoughts by Sojiro.

Ken shook his head. “Nervous isn’t the word. My expectations are pretty low.”

Sojiro scoffed. “Want some advice? Drop that bullshit.”

“What?” Ken wasn’t a fan of people swearing, but he would admit that it was necessary in this case.

“You’ve got all sorts of preconceived notions about that girl because of how she looks and talks,” Sojiro said. “You’re making the same mistake I did when Ren moved in here.”

“She just seems like she’s not all there,” Ken admitted.

Sojiro chuckled. “She’s not. But she’s a good kid and far more intelligent than you think. I don’t know her well, but I hear things.”

“I’ve been given this talk before,” Ken said. He had, by Minako, about Shinjiro, somebody he considered to be his dearest friend, practically an older brother. Sojiro raised an eyebrow without asking the question, and Ken caught on. “It was actually about my guardian. He’s a big, scary-looking guy.”

“Bet he’s got a heart of gold, too,” Sojiro said.

“He’s the best cook I’ve ever met, too.”

“Well, now I’m just insulted-” Sojiro’s words cut off when the bell rang, and Kat entered the cafe.

“Hey, old man,” Kat said.

Sojiro scowled. “Why does everyone think I’m old? Nobody gives Wakaba shit about being old.”

“She’s got the soul of a younger person, though,” Ken said.

“Yeah, Ken’s got it right,” Kat said. “It’s the whole mad scientist thing. They aren’t young or old. They just are. Like Dr. Doofenshmirtz.”

Ken laughed and took a look at Kat as he stood up, and they prepared to leave. “You look great,” he said, and he meant it. He wore a sweater vest and slacks because that’s how he always dressed. Getting dressed up for a date was easy when one always dressed professionally, Ken always said. 

He assumed Kat wasn’t used to dressing up to look nice, although Sojiro had already told him to “drop that bullshit,” so he told himself he’d listen. 

As it turned out, she either  _ was _ used to trying to look nice, or she’d had a friend that was. She wore a brightly colored sundress with purple flowers that went well with her hair. The dress left part of her shoulders uncovered. As they walked towards the train station, Ken noticed a crudely tattooed turtle on her shoulder. He’d never seen a student near his age with a tattoo before.

“What’s the tattoo of?”

She perked up when he asked. They’d been making small talk about school up until that point, with brief mentions of their mutual friends. Ken tried not to hold it against Kat when she talked about Minako reverently. 

“That’s Crush, brah!” Kat spoke like an exaggerated surfer dude, which was slightly different from her usual tone.

“ _ Dude _ ,” Ken said jokingly.

Kat grinned. “Nobody ever gets that joke!”

“Did you actually name your tattoo?”

“Yup!” Kat said with a nod. “I’ve got Nemo on my foot.”

Ken laughed and found himself actually laughing. They got off the train and walked towards the diner on Central Street. Minako told him that it was a great date spot that allowed for a quick exit. He had to ask her why she thought he’d need a quick exit, but she laughed at him, refusing to answer the question. Now, he was feeling a bit miffed that she thought he was that bit of a stiff. He was relating to Kat fine. 

“Are you that big of a fan of Finding Nemo?”

Kat shrugged. “I got high at a party where someone was doing stick and poke, and I watched that movie with my mom earlier.”

“Ah,” Ken said. “That was actually the last movie I saw with my mom.”

They neared the diner, but Kat stopped walking at his words. “Oh. I’m assuming that means-”

“Yeah.” Ken cut her off. “I won’t dampen the mood with the details.”

“I mean, you can if you want,” Kat reached out and squeezed his arm. “We can samarecarm that vibe later.”

Ken facepalmed then turned red. “Oh, no.” 

Kat’s grin showed she got exactly what she wanted. “What?”

“I didn’t know you knew about all that.” 

They sat in one of the back corners and ordered a couple of sodas while continuing their conversation.

“How’d you know I knew about that?” Ken said with a raised eyebrow. “I don’t recall mentioning it.”

“You’re a stranger who showed up out of nowhere with an escort from Kirijo with intimate knowledge of Minako’s life,” Kat said. Ken looked apologetic, but Kat waved him off. “I’m smarter than I look. Low bar, I know.”

“I didn’t realize it was that obvious.”

“Yup.” Kat took a sip. “Blech. Diet. I know I ordered it, but I’m seriously regretting telling myself I’d start taking volleyball seriously again.”

“Why would you order something you don’t like?”

“Don’t drink calories,” Kat said. “Plus, it’s less to add up after training and-” She paused. “Sorry, this kind of talk is boring. Long story short, I have to be in good shape, plus I’d like to keep my butt looking good in spandex.” Ken blushed, and Kat giggled. 

“I don’t mind hearing about your training.” 

“Eh. Volleyball is a sore subject at times still.” Kat absentmindedly tucked her hair behind her ear, revealing a piercing on the upper lobe. “Old coach tried to rape me and my friend and whatnot.”

The nonchalant way she spoke shook Ken. “What?”

“Kamoshida went after me and Kana. It was a whole thing. We got disappeared into some shadow world or something for a few months.” Kat took a sip of her drink. “Everyone thought we were dead. It was kind of a bummer at the time, but looking back, it’s pretty metal.”

Ken hadn’t meant to laugh like a madman, but Kat’s attitude towards the tragedy that befell her caught him so off guard that he couldn’t help it. “I’m sorry,” Ken finally caught his breath. “I just…” He didn’t have a firm explanation for why he was laughing, but Ken felt the need to provide one when he saw her expression. “I’m equal parts impressed and concerned with how well you’re handling all of that.”

“It is what it is,” Kat said with a shrug. “I could sit here being angry, but Kamoshida is rotting in jail, and I’m surrounded by good friends and currently on a date with a cute guy.”

Ken nodded, his cheeks getting a little color at the offhand compliment. It was so matter of fact like she hadn’t said anything nice at all. “I didn’t handle any of mine that well.”

“When did it happen?”

“Well, it started when I was 10-”

“Bruh.” Kat interrupted him immediately. “I was literally 17 when all this shit started. Of  _ course, _ I handled it better.”

Ken tilted his head slightly like he was thinking about her words, then nodded. “That’s fair.” He went on to explain what happened to his mother, how Shinjiro’s inability to control his Persona caused her death.

“Dude. This dude was just deadass summoning in the real world like it was nothing?”

“Uh, not exactly,” Ken said. “It was more like he wasn’t using his Persona enough, so it was exploding from within.”

“Metal as fuck.”

“Anyway, yeah, that’s how my mom died.”

“Shit,” Kat said. “That’s fucked up.”

“And then I tried to kill Shinjiro a couple of years later.”

“Like, Shinjiro, the guy you live with?”

Ken nodded.

Kat coughed awkwardly. “And now you guys just like, live together? No harm, no foul?”

“Shinjiro’s a-” He thought for a second. “I have a feeling you’ll get to meet him soon. He’ll like you.”

“Are you already making plans to introduce you to the family?” Kat teased with a wink. 

Ken laughed. “Not at all. I think you’ve met everyone else already.”

“Interesting,” Kat said. “Want to go bug the guy I buy my weed from?”

“Your what?” Ken was being dragged off by the arm and towards Untouchable before he could finish his question. He got to meet Iwai, who seemed sketchy, and Kaoru, who was like looking in a mirror. 

They weren’t there long, and Ken was secretly wondering if Kat was trying to get some kind of approval from the gruff man who might’ve been a yakuza. 

He got confirmation when Kat told him that Iwai liked him, which apparently meant they could have a second date. 

“You never even told me about your family,” Ken mentioned before they parted ways.

“Yeah, good reason for that.”

“And what is it?”

“We’ll have something to talk about later, duh.” She stuck out her tongue and started walking in the direction that Ken assumed was home. He made his own trek towards the station so he could return to Minako’s apartment. He might as well share the details of his date.

“I have no idea how that went so well,” Ken said out loud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The line at the end of the chapter is something I said out loud while editing. Why does this work so well?
> 
> I've been doing a lot of writing, and I'm working on Covering the Phantom Thieves a bit more than I'm working on this one because it's easier on my pea brain. Chapter 53 is almost done. Chapter 54 is heavily outlined, and will come together quickly. Chapter 55 and 56 don't have much thought put into them yet, but I have a working outline to them. I plan on being through summer break fairly quickly. 
> 
> I want to move the story forward, but I don't want to abandon fluff, because fluff is fun and good for my mental health. I will say, I've been having a lot more fun writing again. It's too cold to be outside and I live in a state where everybody has COVID but me, so I don't leave the house or do anything. I know I plug it all the time but seriously, if you read this story and think "wow, I'd like to read a more well-planned out story with a narrower scope by this same writer," or something similar, go read Covering the Phantom Thieves. That story is mostly born from the mistakes I made earlier while writing this story.
> 
> As kind of a look into what's coming next, I have a third fic in the works. It's mostly a bunch of notes in a notebook right now. There's no working title yet, but it'll feature Rio and Takemi heavily in a completely different type of story. I think it's best to call it a fic based on this fic, which is ridiculous.


	53. Crossroads, Part 1

_ Saturday, July 2, Evening _

Minako hadn’t pregamed a party since before she could legally drink, so she really had no idea what to expect. All she knew is Tae would be there in minutes, and she was not on her A-game. She jumped when there was a knock at the door. Minako didn’t expect Tae to be on time because she was rarely on time.

Tae’s tardiness was often work-related, however. Rarely did it seem to be caused by absentmindedness or a lack of dedication. If Ren could be understanding, Minako thought she could be. There was no reason to give Tae shit.

Minako’s expectation of Tae’s tardiness was correct because Tae wasn’t at the door. Ken was.

“Something must be really wrong if you willingly came to visit me,” Minako said.

Ken entered the apartment, understanding the rarity a Minako greeting was. He took a seat next to Minako and on the couch and she was quick to just jump right into making his life miserable when he came to visit. “The opposite, actually.”

“Oh my god,” Minako said. “Your date was today.” 

“Sure was.” 

Ken’s ability to hide his expression betrayed him and Minako met him with a giant grin. “How’d it go?”

“Well, on the surface, we have nothing in common at all,” Ken said. 

Minako laughed. “Milk and gasoline was the comparison I thought of first.”

“But-”

“There’s a but?” Minako hadn’t expected a happy ending. The date was so out of left field that the shit-eating grin disappeared, replaced by a genuine smile.

Ken’s cheeks turned a slight red and he lowered his head. “Nothing gets to her.”

Minako laughed. “She’s usually too high for anything to get to her.”

“She wasn’t today, though.” He recalled the first day they met. Kat had potentially smoked minutes before they met, but her eyes might’ve been eternally bloodshot. “She was considered dead for months. And you know what she told me?”

“I can only imagine,” Minako said. If she was honest, she couldn’t imagine. Minako would have called her a wildcard if that word didn’t have a different connotation. She was unpredictable, to say the least. 

“She told me ‘it was pretty metal,’” Ken said with a chuckle. “Could you imagine me telling  _ any  _ story from the last several years and finishing it with ‘yeah, that was pretty sick.’” 

“Oh, no.” Minako jokingly held the back of her hand to her forehead. “She’s already influenced your vocabulary.”

Ken rolled his eyes. “The way she talked about it reminded me of Shinjiro.”

“I get that vibe,” Minako said with a nod.

“Speaking of,” Ken paused. “Shinji hasn’t had a date in a while-”

“Kendrick Amada, I will strangle you.”

“Kendrick?”

“At least I didn’t call you Kennifer.”

He was about to ask a further question when there was another knock at the door. 

“Oh! Tae must be here,” Minako said, walking towards the door.

Ken started to get up. “I didn’t realize you had company coming-” but Minako interrupted him.

“You don’t get to leave. Tae wants me to do bad things and if you’re here, I have an excuse.”

“Minako-san, what could she possibly-” he stopped talking when the door opened, and a puppy barged right past Minako and onto his lap. “Akira!” 

Tae hadn’t come alone, apparently. Rio, Kana, and Kat followed her into the living room. Minako was not thrilled that the kids had come with her.   
“Wasn’t the whole idea that we needed to stop hanging around with high school kids?”

Tae shrugged. “I figured if we knew we had kids waiting for us at home, we’d keep it from getting out of hand.”

Before Minako could respond, a bigger dog ran through the door with a familiar blue-headed boy following behind him. “Damn it, Koromaru!” 

“So, this is how Ken dies,” Kat said, plopping down on the sofa next to him. 

Rio sat on the other side, saving Ken from being smothered by the younger dog. “You’ll have to settle for me, Akira. Ken can’t handle this much affection at once.” 

“Rio! You can’t just say that!” Minako said, coming to Ken’s defense. He would have died from embarrassment had she not.

“Why not?”

“You haven’t even introduced yourself, dude,” Kat said. “Even I have better manners.”

“Yeah, get with the program, Rio,” Minato said, taking a seat in his favorite chair. It wasn’t very comfortable, but it had the best view out of the window. Kana was busy helping Tae carry the groceries she’d brought in preparation for a girl’s night out: A 30 rack of cheap beer, two bottles of whiskey, and a few large bottles of Coke Zero.

“Do we really need this for one night?” Minako raised an eyebrow. There was enough liquor there to last her several years.

“Are we really just going to drink in front of the kids?” Tae asked.

Ken coughed awkwardly while Minako tried to figure out what the hell Tae was thinking. “Uh, isn’t drinking bad for their development or something?”

“Oh, they’ll be fine,” Tae said. “I did a lot worse than drink when I was their age.”

“Yeah, like the time you-” Tae cut Rio off before she could finish that story.

“Rio, maybe don’t tell her that story.”

“Or that other time with the belt-” Rio got cut off again.

“Not that one either.”

Rio paused for a short time. “What about the mushroom guy?”

Tae laughed. “Okay, that one is actually funny and doesn’t make me look like a freak.”

“You literally asked if I saw Sojiro’s dick the other day.”

“What the fuck!?” Rio stood up, causing Akira to jump off her lap and follow her to the kitchen, where she tore open the case of beer to grab a can. “Absolutely no more talk of my mom and her boyfriend, thank you.”

Kat pouted. “I wanted to hear the story about the mushroom guy.”

“Surprisingly, I kind of wanted to hear that story, too,” Ken said. “There’s a lot of interesting research coming out about the benefits of minor doses of psilocybin-”

“Ken, stop,” Kana said. 

“Huh? Oh, sorry. I get caught up-”

Kana rolled her eyes. “It’s not you. If you kept going, Kat would propose.”

“I would do no such thing!” Kat said. “This is character assassination.”

“It was a nicer way of saying you’d jump his bones.” The couple who had only just had their first date both turned equally red.

“Double kill! Nice,” Rio shouted from the kitchen. “Anybody want a drink?”

Akira barked. 

“Sorry, Akira.” Rio amended her statement. “Any humans want a drink?”

Yukari shouted that she wanted a beer from the other room. She might’ve been joking, but Rio grabbed her one anyway.

=== 

Rio tried not to be too emphatic in her speech when she said she didn’t want to hear anything about her mother and her boyfriend. If she protested too much, it would become a popular discussion topic for everyone. She understood the dynamics of the Phantom Thieves. No inner-group politicking existed, but anyone was liable to be roasted if they left an opening.

Weirder was her issue with Sojiro. ‘God, it’s fucking weird to talk about Boss that way,’ she thought. He had a name. If anything, she should think of him more fondly than her own mother. She didn’t care about Rio until her heart changed. Sojiro, albeit begrudgingly, helped anyone who asked. She believed he secretly thought of the Phantom Thieves as his own children. He had some big-time dad tendencies. ‘I could get used to that, honestly.’

Rio shook her head in an attempt to avoid the intrusive thoughts. She didn’t tag along to be sad and boring. Besides, it seemed like Ken already filled their quota for those categories. 

Yukari’s left her door open, but Rio still felt a bit weird about just walking in, so she knocked on the open door anyway. Yukari was sitting at her desk, typing out something at a speed Rio found painful. How anyone could make it so far in life while still typing with one finger at a time, Rio would never understand. 

“Huh?” Yukari looked back. “I didn’t think you’d bring me one.”

“I figured you could use one,” Rio said. 

Yukari closed her laptop and walked towards the door. “More than one. Minako didn’t tell me they were going out tonight.”

That surprised Rio, but Minako wasn’t the most thoughtful person on the planet, so maybe not. “You’re more than welcome to hang out with us,” Rio offered. 

Yukari nodded. “That was the plan,” she said with a sight. “I’ll have to keep the kids in line.” She stood up and started heading towards the door when Rio stopped her.

“Does it bother you that Minako didn’t invite you?” Rio had felt something similar happening to her lately. More and more, she was beginning to feel excluded, left only in the company of Tae and Goro.

Yukari shrugged. “Minako knows I’m not much for going out anymore. If she doesn’t ask me to go, I trust that she doesn’t think I’m going to have fun.”

“Oh,” Rio said. She started towards the door, but Yukari closed it. 

“You’re Minato-ing.” 

“What?”

“You have a problem you want help with, so you avoid it by finding someone else you think might have a similar problem.” She rolled her eyes. “That’s how we all ended up having to deal with fucking Kenji for a week.”

“...Kenji?”

“Rio, you don’t even want to know. I promise.” Yukari sighed. “I’m pretty sure he’s in jail for stealing used panties from a nursing home.”

“He- eh- uh,” Rio didn’t have words to display her discomfort. “Wha-”

“Dude was a freak.”

“Seven days a week?” Rio hated herself the second she spoke.

“Welp.” Yukari facepalmed. “It’s official.” Rio raised an eyebrow. “You might dress and act like that emo doctor, but  _ that _ was a Minako line.”

“It is not!” Rio pouted. She wanted to argue that she wasn’t dressing like Tae, either, but Rio wore fishnets and a skirt in public for the first time, and even Rio wasn’t delusional enough to claim she didn’t draw inspiration from the doctor. “I’m clever, damn it.”

“And  _ that _ makes it two in a row,” Yukari said. “All you wildcards are the same.”

Rio didn’t have a good response for that other than the fact that she isn’t a wildcard. She’d only ever summoned Orpheus. “I’m sorry if we’re mistaken, Yukari, but I’m not a wildcard.”

She chuckled. “Have you ever had to summon a Persona that wasn’t Orpheus?”

She had to think back to every time she’d been in a fight. Every single time, the victory came handily. There wasn’t a single time she felt tested.

“I’m just saying, I bet there’s more there.” Yukari sat her down on the bed and explained. “Think of how quickly people started flocking to you after you awoke to Orpheus. Do you really think this is all normal?”

“I-”

“It’s not,” Yukari said. “Especially with high school girls. They all hate each other.”

“Ain’t that the truth.”

Yukari laughed. “I can’t believe you haven’t tried to do something stupid like fight Kana yet.” 

“What? Kana’s one of my best friends.”

“Sure, kid,” Yukari said. “What you’re feeling is normal, by the way.”

“How do you know what I’m feeling?” Rio was losing her patience. She desperately wanted this conversation to be over, and she desperately wanted another beer. 

“I’ve been there. There’s some anger that your two best friends are preoccupied, some jealousy that you might be harboring a crush on your friend’s boyfriend, some frustration that things with the Phantom Thieves aren’t moving as quickly as you’d like.” Yukari looked up fondly. “This is all terrifying, Rio. But enjoy it. Part of me hates doing this again, and just wants to get back to filming episodes of a shitty sentai show, but I love being back with my friends. It feels right.”

“I-” Rio stammered, remembering the first real argument she’d ever had with Tae. “That’s what I told Tae.”

“What?”   
“When this all started,” Rio clarified. “I told her this felt right. And I told her it felt like she was supposed to be here with me.”

“You’re every bit as smart as I’ve given you credit for, then.” Yukari stood up and grabbed Rio’s arm, forcing her up. “Now, come on. Even if you’re upset and tonight sucks, you can tell everyone at school you partied with Yukari Takeba.”

“Nobody would ever believe me,” Rio giggled. She hated giggling, but Yukari cheered her up when she didn’t know she needed it. She hadn’t felt this happy in a while.

“That’s the fun part!”

Rio swore she could hear glass breaking and the voice of a young girl say something about the Star Arcana. She forgot it quickly, though. Her friends were busy being stupid in the living room.

“What’d I miss?” Yukari walked right past the teenagers to the kitchen counter, where Tae was showing Minako the proper mix on a whiskey and coke: 60% whiskey, 40% cola. Yukari howled with laughter. “I’m so glad I’m staying home.”

Tae gave her a questioning look, and Yukari shrugged.

“You aren’t prepared for a drunk night out with a wildcard.” 

Tae shrugged and laughed. “She can’t be any worse than my parents.”

“You drank with your parents?” Rio knew Tae had a troubled childhood, but that seemed like obvious lousy parenting. Then she realized she was basically drinking with her adoptive mother. 

“I had a fucked up childhood,” Tae mumbled, then sighed. “Pun intended.” She chugged her whiskey, featuring a splash of cola.

Rio decided not to press the issue. ‘Who am I to judge somebody else’s childhood?’ Hers was probably every bit as messed up. She suddenly didn’t feel much like drinking. It was unfair for her mother to move on from her family so quickly, but it was unjust for Rio to blame her. ‘Am I just supposed to sit here and hope she’s never happy again? I left. They didn’t want me to-’

“Rio!” Kana shouted. She had a glass of wine in her hand.

“Huh?”

“You’re stewing,” Ken interjected. 

“Dude, we could probably cook stir fry on your head right now,” Kat laughed. “Get your pretty little butt over here.”

Rio blushed a little; Kat spoke with slurred speech. Apparently, her body didn’t tolerate liquor as well as it did weed. Rio couldn’t tell if Ken’s obvious discomfort stemmed from Kat’s state or the beer in his hand. She made her way over towards her friends, sitting next to Kana on the couch. She grabbed Rio in a headlock and rubbed her knuckles on her head hard.

“Ow!” Rio’s eyes narrowed as she elbowed Kana in the gut, an “oof” following. “Don’t do that.”

She couldn’t join in the laughs. It felt patronizing and shitty, and she didn’t want to start shit. Rio sighed and grumbled to herself. ‘They’re your friends. Stop.’ 

“You’re still sulking,” Minato said matter-of-factly.

“You would know, emo-boy,” Kana prodded. “You’re the expert.”

Minato shifted in his seat uncomfortably. “I am legally required to be at least partially sad at all times, as per the terms of my release from hell.”

His voice was so droll that everyone lost it. He sounded like the legal notices that followed a car commercial. 

“I just have to die for it to be acceptable?” Rio giggled. 

“No dying allowed,” Kat said. “Three is our quota.”

Ken looked around in confusion before realizing that Kana and Kat had both been considered dead at one point. He took a sip of his beer, following it with a deep breath. “You guys face death on a regular basis, and you just joke about it?”

Rio shrugged. “Hey, maybe it’ll be my turn to wake up on a train ride to Yongen after getting falsely accused for assaulting a politician.”

Everyone but Ken laughed, but that was mostly because he didn’t know Ren’s whole story. 

Minako must have heard it because she came over. “That’s no fair!” ‘Oh, god. She  _ cannot _ hold her liquor.’ Rio cringed. Minako spoke in full-on valley girl mode. “I want to go next. Well, only if I can be 16 again.”

“It’s not as fun as it sounds,” Minato said sardonically. “My movie star girlfriend left me when it happened to me.”

Kana lightly smacked his shoulder and rolled her eyes. “You would’ve never met me, though.”

Minato shrugged. “That’s a nice consolat-”

“Brother, I’m going to stop you right there,” Minako said, sounding slightly soberer. “You’re treading a dangerous path.”

Yukari wandered over. “You know it’s bad when Minako is telling you to stop.” She shifted her stance a little bit and took a sip from the beer she’d been nursing. Yukari didn’t plan on drinking much, expecting the kids to get out of hand at some point because, well, she knew from experience that teenagers and alcohol didn’t mix. “Besides, I’m not a movie star yet.” 

“Yet?”

“There’s a Featherman movie in the works,” Yukari said. “I got the starring role.”

“Dude! That’s fucking sick!” Kat’s excitement permeated the room. “I can’t wait!”

Ken looked at the girl he had just earlier that day had a first date with curiosity. “Yukari-san, that’s amazing. I-”

“Wait,” Kat interrupted. “You watch Featherman, too?”

Ken nodded, a bit more enthusiastically than he planned.

“How did we not talk about this?”

Kana held her head in her hands. “Oh, no.” Minato assumed the worst and rubbed her back. She looked up at him briefly. “She’s going to talk about Featherman for the next several hours.”

He looked over at Rio, and they shared a laugh, agreeing that they could live with that.

For some reason, Rio couldn’t explain, Keiko popped into her brain. “Hey, Yukari.”

“What?”

“Think you could talk to my friend about that movie?”

Yukari raised an eyebrow. “Talk to, as in how?”

“Well, she’s a reporter…”

“I’ll run it by the casting director.”

===

Tae understood nearly immediately what Yukari meant by not being prepared for a night out with a wildcard. She assumed Minako would just be a belligerent drunk, which was fine. Tae could handle a belligerent drunk.

She was used to people’s worst impulses getting amplified when they drank, so she expected to have to pull Minako off of a guy, or prevent her from getting into fights, or something normal. She didn’t expect that worst impulse to be lust for adventure.

Tae was only able to get Minako to sit at Crossroads because she was fascinated by the bartender. 

“Welcome!” A raspy voice came from the large, kimono-clad woman behind the bar. The two sat on the barstools of the surprisingly quiet bar. “What can I get you?”

“Something sugary!” Minako was far too loud as she spoke, and then she spun around on the barstool. 

“I-” Tae would get a beer, but she decided something harder was in order. “Whiskey sour for me.” She placed her hands on Minako’s shoulders to get her to stop spinning. “What do you want to drink?”

“How much has she had already?” Lala-chan asked. 

“Next to nothing,” Tae said. “She’s not drunk, just annoying.”

“Excuse you,” Minako said. “I haven’t drank in months, so  _ sorry _ if I’m not an experienced alcoholic like yourself.”

Tae rolled her eyes. “Probably should keep it consistent. She had a whiskey and coke earlier.”

“Simple enough,” Lala said and went to work making the drink. It didn’t take long for her to place both drinks in front of her new patrons. “You two out celebrating?”

“Ha!” Tae said as Minako took a sip of her drink and didn’t make a face for the first time all night.

“Hey! This tastes good!” Minako pouted. “Why did yours taste like dying?”

Lala chuckled and replied with a smile. “I’ve been doing this a long time, dear.” 

“I’m surprised this place is so empty,” Tae said, looking around. It didn’t look like a classy place from the outside, but the warm colors and the immaculately-polished wood bar and piano music gave it a fantastic atmosphere.

“It’s how I like it,” Lala-chan said. “Besides, Ichi-chan usually scares other people away.” She gestured towards the end of the bar. A woman straight out of the mid-’90s was sulking over a glass with a familiar brown liquid in it.

“I-” she burped. “I haven’t scared anyone away.”

Lala-chan rolled her eyes, and Tae could tell this was a losing battle she’d been fighting for a long time. “You hound everyone who walks in here for story ideas.”

“How else am I supposed to do my job?”

“You could work on not drinking so much,” Tae suggested. “You look like a mess.”

Ohya marched over and got in Tae’s face. The alcohol stench was too much, and Tae had to back away. “And who just might you be?”

Tae held out a hand. “Dr. Tae Takemi. Nice to meet you.”

Ohya took her hand to her surprise. “Ichiko Ohya, freelance journalist.”

“Freelance?” Takemi knew that name. “You were with Setagaya-”

“Was. I got fired.”

Minako had been distracted by the bubbles in her drink, but she looked at Ohya. “What for?”

“You wouldn’t get it-”

“‘s it got to do with Shido?”

Tae and Ichiko both shared remarkably sober looks at Minako, who went back to spinning in her chair, complete with an excited “wee!”

“Okay,” Tae sighed. “I see this was a mistake. Let’s go-”

“Yes,” Ohya said in a sad tone. “It’s got to do with Shido.”

“Woo! Lay it on me,” Tae was thankful Minako stopped spinning in her chair and overall acting like a child. Still, she wasn’t too excited to see Minako jumping headfirst into an investigation while several drinks deep. “This was a good idea, doc! We should have a girl’s night more often.”

Tae finished her drink and ordered another. 

===

Sae didn’t know what to do with a weekend to herself. The last time she remembered being off on the weekend without plans, she ended up at the bottom of a bottle of Jack Daniels with Hannah. That night was foggy and hard to remember, but she woke up with bloody knuckles, with rumors going around that she knocked out somebody who messed with her friend. 

**Sae:** you busy?

**Naoto:** nope

**Sae:** its weird, right?

**Naoto:** you get used to it. 

**Naoto:** wanna go to Crossroads?

**Sae:** sure

That was the text exchange she’d had with Naoto earlier in the night. Now Sae was dressed nicely and heading off to a bar with a friend for the first time in years. 

She and Naoto met at the Shibuya station on their way to Shinjuku and successfully ignored the scummy hosts. However, Sae was slightly annoyed at how much attention she was getting.

“Do you ever wear anything besides slacks and a dress shirt?” Sae didn’t want to come off as annoyed, but that was her base tone of voice. 

Naoto shrugged. “I have fuzzy pajamas that I sleep in.”

“That wasn’t what I meant,” Sae narrowed her eyes, then realized she was being obnoxious and forced a smile. “But I imagine you’re adorable in your fuzzy pj’s.”

“That’s what Kanji always says,” she replied. 

They made it to Crossroads, where the noise was almost too much for Sae immediately. It was much too loud for a nearly empty bar, but Sae understood the noise levels. Tae and Minako were sitting there with Ohya, Minako rambling incessantly and-

“Hey!” Minako looked away from Ohya. “More friends!”

Sae barely knew Minako, but now she found herself on the receiving end of a hug that was far tighter than necessary. “Hi, Arisato-san.” She didn’t hide how uncomfortable Minako’s drunken-state made her. ‘Am I like this when I drink?’ Sae recalled many times when she was more excited to see people than she would have usually been comfortable with, although Minako, from what she understood, was a bit bubblier than most people regardless. 

“Just Minako, or else you’d be getting me ‘n Minato mixed up.” Sae had thought about all the times she would gush about Makoto to her- ‘Wait. I’ve never gushed about Makoto.’ She gestured towards Lala that she wanted a drink, whatever Minako was having, and returned to the conversation, keeping in mind that she should show more pride in her sister. “I’ll remember that, Minako.”

“Anyway! We were just talkin’ about Shi-” Tae put her hand over Minako’s mouth and interrupted her.

“Shiho and Ann, that’s right, Minako.” Tae looked on, mortified. “Those two sure are, uh-”

“You mean Ann Takamaki?” Ohya interrupted. “You guys know her?”

Naoto wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth and immediately jumped on an opportunity to cover for Minako’s gaff. “She’s good friends with Sae’s sister.”

Ohya burped disgustingly. “You should give ‘er my business card.” She handed Sae a card, who took it and slipped it into her purse. Maybe she’d give it to Makoto to give to Ann. Perhaps she’d warn Ann about this lush who she personally had been avoiding for months. “Anyway,” Ohya said. “We should head into the back for a minute.” 

She gave Sae a look, and Sae knew she remembered. Ichiko Ohya was sharper than she gave on. 

Ohya led Minako, Tae, Naoto, and Sae to Crossroads’ back room, where they’d be able to talk more freely. She addressed Sae and Naoto first.

“Aren’t you two cops?”

Sae shook her head. “I was a prosecutor. I’ve recently changed careers.”

“I’m a detective, except I’m not really supposed to be one right now.” Sae gave Naoto a questioning look, to which she mouthed “later.”

“Sure,” Ohya’s tone didn’t convey that she believed Naoto. “SIU misses you, Niijima-san.”

Sae would have spoken first, but Minako interrupted. “One man’s trash, ya know.”

“Are you calling me trash?” Sae leaned forward against the table, glaring at Minako.

“I think she was calling you treasure,” Naoto said. “But I’m concerned regardless.” 

Ohya ignored the interruption. “Who are you working for now? 

“I don’t think I’m at liberty to say.” Sae didn’t know if it was a secret where she’d been working, but Ohya was the last person who needed to know.

Ohya huffed. “Fine.”

“I’m sure Mitsuru wouldn’t-”

“Minako, how about we go over here?” Tae, again, ran interference, pulling Minako away from the group and back towards the bar. “I don’t know about you, but I need another drink. Anyone else need another drink?” She didn’t wait for them to answer. “I’ll get you all another round. I think we all need another round.” She kept talking as she pulled Minako away.

“Your friend is a real open book,” Ohya said.

Sae put her head in her hands, trying not to show the frustration and failing. “Liquor works like a truth serum on her.”

“I noticed.” Ohya looked around the private room like there might be somebody there, but there wasn’t. “I have something important to tell you, but you have to promise not to go after them.”

“I’m not with law enforcement anymore,” Sae said. 

“Good. But I meant on a personal level.”

“Why would I-”

“Kaida is going after the Phantom Thieves. Hard.” Sae wasn’t surprised to hear the news. They fired her for not going after the Thieves hard enough. “He’s got a list of suspects. My guy swiped a copy.”

“You have it on you?”

“I have one on my phone.” Ohya held a finger up. “But I have two conditions.” Sae nodded as if saying go ahead, and Ohya continued. “I need you to go on record speaking out against Kaida.”

“Ohya-san, I don’t think I can do that.” Sae tried to think of a good excuse, but she didn’t have one. She didn’t even have the option of claiming she was worried about a mental shutdown right now. ‘Wait. I can still say that.’ “I have reason to believe he’s behind at least a portion of the mental shutdowns.”

“That’s where my other request comes in.” She sighed. “I met with a friend of the Phantom Thieves. Hypothetically, if they steal my heart first, I can’t get hit with a mental shutdown.”

“Who the fuck told you that?” Sae tried to make it sound like she didn’t believe Ohya, but it was definitely a “who squealed?” type of tone. 

“I don’t reveal my sources.”

“What? Fine.” Sae rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Let’s just get back to my friends.” They went back through the curtain, and Sae barged through Minako, who had her ear just inside trying to hear their conversation.

“Hey, guys! We got a heart to steal!” 

Sae and Naoto gasped. Tae ordered another drink. “We are so lucky this is an empty bar.” 

Ohya looked shocked. Lala-chan completely no-sold the reveal. “I knew there was something strange about all these weirdos that keep coming into my bar.”

===

“We should play a drinking game,” Rio said. She and Yukari were the only two managing to keep their shit together, with Yukari not drinking at all and mostly trying to keep the peace. Rio was pacing herself with only beer because she’d only drank one other time with Tae, and she woke up with a debilitating hangover she hoped never to recreate again. ‘Never again, Mr. Vodka.’ 

“Yeah, dude!” Kat was enthusiastic about the idea. She’d had less to drink than the rest of the group, but her tolerance was lower. It turns out this was her first time consuming more than a single beer at a time. She was handling it well, though. She wasn’t getting on Rio’s nerves in the same way Kana and Minato were. 

They’d both had a buzz going and eventually started pawing at each other. Yukari had to clear her throat loudly multiple times before they finally got tired of her killing their mood and sat further apart. 

Rio asked her if it was weird to chaperone her ex-boyfriend, but she waved her off and said it was more like having a teenage son than an ex-boyfriend. Rio wanted to point out the implication that Yukari had a child when she was 10, but she figured she’d be nice since she was the only voice of reason. 

They’d each gone to grab beers: Yukari very specifically told them she wasn’t putting up with anyone getting too deep into the whiskey. 

“Who goes first?” Kana looked around the room. Rio was sitting on the couch next to Kat and Ken, while Yukari had pulled up a chair. Minato was seated next to her on the love seat.

“I’ll go first!” Yukari said, uncharacteristically enthusiastic. The eyes she gave Minato gave Rio hope this would be interesting. “Never have I ever been caught peeping at a girl’s only hot spring.”

Minato’s face went white like he’d seen a ghost. “I-” he stammered. “That wasn’t my idea.”

“Whose was it, then?” Yukari’s voice was the dangerous kind of sweet Rio wasn’t used to hearing. It reminded her of how Ren described Haru. 

“It was Aki-”

“We all  _ know _ it wasn’t Akihiko,” Yukari admonished. “And don’t go blaming everything on Junpei.”

Minato sighed. “It was Ryoji.”

“Was it? Or is it just convenient for you to blame-”

“No offense, Yukari, but this isn’t a story any of us are familiar with,” Kana interrupted. “Would you care to explain the  _ exact _ details of what happened?”

“You should tell her about the friend that stole the panties from the nursing home,” Rio said, trying to come to the rescue of her friend.

“I don’t have a friend that would-” He paused. “Is that what happened to Kenji?”

Yukari deadpanned.

“I’m just going to take my turn now…” Ken slowly tried to change the subject. Everyone except Kana and Yukari was completely okay with that. “Never have I ever kissed a girl.”

“Really coming out swinging, Ken,” Yukari teased. Yukari and Minato took a drink.

“What?” Minato glared at his ex-girlfriend. “Who?”

Yukari blushed. “College was wild.”

“Is it anyone I know?”

“Um, I’d say, yes. It’s somebody you know very well.” She brushed her hair out of her face. “Uh, a couple of people you know really well.”

“Please tell me it wasn’t my sister.”

“I was-” Yukari stammered. “She was there and-”

“Yukari, you don’t need to-” Rio got cut off by Minato.

“No, I think she needs to.” He looked like he was about to storm off, but Kana put an arm around him.

“No, Minato,” Rio borrowed her inflection from Tae. “She doesn’t need to tell us.”

“She fucked-”

“You fucking died, man,” Rio said. “You don’t get to choose how people mourn. They didn’t expect to see you again.”

“Dude.” Kat looked off into space. “I fucking feel that in my soul.”

Kana nodded. “I agree.”

Minato leaned back into the love seat and started pouting.

“You’re a fucking baby, Minato,” Rio said. “It’s my turn. Never have I ever died.”

She received glares from Minato and Kana.

Kat wasn’t offended. “Drink up, boys and girls!” The glares turned to her. “What? I’m just happy to be alive.” Akira had been sleeping in the corner with an old slipper Minako didn’t mind giving him. He slowly got up and climbed on the couch, between her and Ken. “He’s happy I’m alive, too.”

Yukari’s sigh told the story of the night. 

“Never have I ever squeezed Shiho’s boobs,” Kat said.

“You promised you’d never tell!” 

The mood lightened. It didn’t lighten enough, Rio thought, but it lightened. She’d have to talk to Minato.

===

“Minako, we really can’t just jump to this tonight,” Naoto said. “We need backup.”

“What do you mean we?” Ohya gave a concerned look.

Sae gave a frustrated grunt reminiscent of her sister. “Minako and Tae are Phantom Thieves. Her drunk ass is lucky you’re the only person that heard.” She absentmindedly cracked her knuckles. “Can we trust you not to tell?”

Ohya gulped, then nodded, then Sae realized it looked like a threat.

“Wait, I wasn’t trying to threaten-”

“Regardless.” Ohya’s tone sounded more fearful. “Just don’t kill me.”

“We wouldn’t, Ohya-san,” Naoto said. “The Phantom Thieves don’t kill, and neither do we.”

“Good to know,” Ohya sounded like she didn’t believe her. She got up and moved to the other end of the bar, where she and Lala-chan conferred with each other over what Sae was sure would end up being a call to the police.

“Where are we going to get more muscle?” Sae asked the room. “It’s late on a Saturday. Do we have anyone available?”

Minako was already on the phone. “Hey! You got a minute?”

They could only hear one side of the conversation, but it sounded like she was speaking to either Ren or Makoto. Minako reigned in her drunkenness quite a bit. “We need some backup. Me and Sae are at Crossroads in Shinjuku, if you aren’t busy. You’ll be here in a few? Great. Thanks!”

There was a long, pregnant pause.

“Did you call Ren?”

“What? Why would I call Ren?” Minako gave Naoto a confused look. 

“Who the fuck did you call?” Sae questioned angrily. “Did you call my sister?”

“I’m so confused. You said we needed muscle.”

Tae spoke slowly. “Minako. Who did you call-”

The door opened and an extremely fit woman wearing black stretch pants and a tank top walked in. Her haircut was similar to Tae’s, Sae noticed.

“You said we needed muscle and Akihiko is like, hours away, and Ryuji doesn’t like bars,” Minako chirped. “This is Coach Hiraguchi.”

“What’d you need help with?” Coach looked at Minako with great concern.

“Oh!” Minako smacked her forehead and pulled out her phone. “Ichiko Ohya,” she spoke, then looked around. “Crossroads Bar?” 

The app responded. “Location confirmed.”

“Minako!” Sae and Naoto both reached for the phone, but Minako got the final word out before they could get there.

“Alcoholism?” 

“Distortion confirmed.” The world turned its hazy black and purple, and the world around them became dark and dreary. And black and white.

“Why did everything turn black and white?” Hiraguchi was the first back on her feet, much to everyone else’s surprise. 

“We’re in a palace! Isn’t it cool?” Nobody else shared Minako’s cheer.

Nobody even spoke. 

“I’ll just take-” Naoto paused. “What did you say your name was?”

“Akari Hiraguchi,” Coach replied, still confused.

“I’ll escort Hiraguchi-san back,” Naoto sighed. “This doesn’t seem to be as dangerous as a normal palace.”

“Aww,” Minako pouted. “But Tae told me we needed friends that weren’t teenagers.”

Tae’s jaw fell open, and she closed it quickly. “I meant like, we should be friends!”

“Weren’t we already friends?” The pout returned.

“Yes, but-”

===

_ Sunday, June 3, Midnight _

“Dear fucking god,” Sae shouted at Naoto. “Get Hiraguchi the fuck home.”

The shadows closed in, and Sae had a civilian to protect. She called for Leviathan, who appeared guns blazing, taking out at least three shadows. 

Tae called for Rosario, who spread a cloud of poison over the remaining shadows. 

They expected Minako to join in the fun, but she was too busy giggling.

“Minako! What the fuck?”

“Sorry!” She burped, then laughed again. “Mara! Megidolaon!”

Nothing could have prepared Sae for the Persona that appeared behind Minako. The shadows disintegrated immediately and Minako kept laughing. Sae barely kept herself from sending Leviathan after Minako, but judging from how short work she made of those shadows, Leviathan wouldn’t stand a chance.

“I-” Tae looked at Sae. “Does that count as sexual assault? I kind of feel like I was just flashed.”

“Come on, guys!” Minako was still calming down from her laughter. “It was funny.”

Hiraguchi provided terrified looks and long silences until she finally spoke. “Was that a penis riding a wagon?”

“We’d all appreciate you not telling anybody about what you’ve seen.” Sae tried to put some distance between her and Minako. “Minako gets,-” Sae didn’t even know how to continue that sentence.

“She’s not a drinker,” Hiraguchi said. “She’s told me that. It’s why she won’t meet me for drinks.”

Tae gave a confused look. “Minako has other friends?”

“Why do you sound so-” the urp noise that followed disgusted Sae. “Surprised?”

“Sorry,” Tae said. “I shouldn’t.”

“You’ll probably say no but…” Hiraguchi trailed off. “Can I stay?”

“Hell yeah!” Minako shouted but Sae gave a tired look.

“Minako is leading the way,” Sae grumbled. “She outranks me.”

“We’ve done dumber things,” Tae said, picking at her mask. “Shit, this can’t go any worse than me adopting two kids.”

“Or Makoto dating a homeless guy…” Sae said quietly.

“Hey, Goro is a sweetheart,” Minako said. “Just saying, this would fix our whole teenager problem. We can’t just force an awakening, though.”

“No, but we-” Sae got interrupted by Naoto.

“This is the smallest palace I’ve ever seen.” She scratched the back of her head. “We should get going.”

Sae glared at Naoto. “Why?” 

“I brought my drink with me,” Naoto replied.

Naoto noticed the incredulous looks. Even Minako was concerned. “And?”

“Ohya’s shadow traded her shadow for a drink.” Naoto shrugged.

The palace started rumbling, and they returned immediately.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Sae grumbled. Ohya was leaned against the wall in a booth, sound asleep. “Is she okay?”

“She passed out after you guys left,” Lala-chan said. “Can you get her home?”

“We’ve got her,” Minako said. She and Hiraguchi each took a side and carried Ohya back to the apartment. Minako had sobered up quite a bit by then. “Sorry for uh, dragging you into this, Coach.”

“Is this why the girls improved so quickly?”

Minako looked around the room for help and received none. “Yup.”

“I’m mad you didn’t tell me sooner.” She didn’t smile like she was angry. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving! Here's the chapter a day early, and I'll have another posted tomorrow. 
> 
> Um, I'll keep my end notes to a minimum because I don't trust myself not to spoil the next chapters. Chapter 53, 54 and 55 are parts 1-3 of the same chapter because it currently sits at about 23k words between the three of them That's too much.


	54. Crossroads, Part 2

_Sunday, July 3, Early Morning_

Ren jolted off of a couch that was softer than his bed, realizing he wasn’t in LeBlanc’s attic. He was still in Yongen-Jaya, though, because Igor was sitting at his desk watching Ren sleep. Lavenza stood next to him. 

“Welcome to the…” Ren didn’t realize Igor _could_ look confused. “It’s not really the Velvet Room, is it?”

Lavenza shook her head. “It’s more of an office building.”

“It was.” Ren shrugged. “Where’d the couch come from?”

“I thought you’d appreciate having a bed, inmate-” She stopped herself. “Trickster.”

He looked back at it. “Did you find it next to a dumpster?”

Lavenza’s eyes shifted. “I’m afraid I know not of this dumpster.”

“Like, it’s where people throw their garbage away. It smells bad.”

“Yes.” Lavenza nodded. “I found it outside and thought it could be of use.”

Ren’s eyes narrowed. “Did you clean it first?”

“Why would it need cleaning?”

Ren took a deep breath, then let it out. “I’ll be over during the day. I’ll clean it off.” It was a nice couch, Ren thought. It definitely needed some scrubbing, but he wasn’t as grossed out as he expected.

“Couch notwithstanding,” Ren said. “What can I help you with?”

“As you know, my powers outside the Velvet Room are quite limited,” Igor said. “But the truth is, my powers have been limited even within the Velvet Room ever since I was discarded.”

“I have brought it to Master’s attention that what we know as the Velvet Room may, in fact, be another imposter.”

“What?” Ren was confused. “Is that possible?”

“I would have thought not until the Jester took residence.”

“The Jester?”

“He is a man you know.” Lavenza looked like sharing information wasn’t her strong suit, which Ren would agree. “I know not his name, but he has a strong bond with another wildcard.”

“Which one?”

“The Seeker of Truth.”

Ren sighed. That probably meant Yu. “Okay. I’ll talk to Yu.”

“You’ll talk to me?” Lavenza said, confused.

“That joke isn’t funny.”

“I kid not, Trickster,” Lavenza said with a small style. “That is your job.” 

Ren woke up in his bed as if he never left it hours later. He went downstairs, where Sojiro already opened up shop. A tired-looking Minako and a- ‘Sumire’s coach?’ were sitting in a booth, drinking coffee.

“Is that the guy?” The coach looked right at Ren. He couldn’t meet her eyes. She was frightening, second only to Haru. 

“Ren, c’mere,” Minako said, pulling him into the booth next to her. “Have you met Coach Hiraguchi?”

“I don’t believe we’ve met,” Ren rubbed his arm. He’d heard much about the twins’ beloved coach. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“Likewise,” Hiraguchi said. “I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about you.”

“You should ask around a little more,” Sojiro interrupted. “Kids got enemies coming out of the woodwork daily.”

“I’d be mad if he wasn’t right.” Ren shrugged. “What can I do for you?”

“She kind of-” Hiraguchi shot her a look. “I kind of dragged her into a palace last night.”

“A palace.” Ren looked down. “Whose palace?”

“Ohya’s.”

“Ohya had a palace?”

Minako shrugged. “Not much of one. Naoto stole her treasure in seconds flat. I was super drunk.”

“And she summoned this giant penis monster-” Hiraguchi didn’t get to finish her sentence when Ren started dying laughing.

“You used Mara?” He couldn’t catch his breath. “Fucking classic. How’d they take it?”

“Sae will never speak to me again.” 

He reached across the table and they bumped knuckles. “Fucking worth it. I’m so mad I wasn’t there. How’d Naoto get the treasure so quick?”

Minako sighed. “She brought her drink into the palace with her. Ohya’s shadow traded her treasure for another drink.”

“Oof.” Ren felt like he’d got punched in the stomach. “That’s-” He paused and thought for a second. “I like Ohya, but that’s pathetic.”

Minako nodded. 

“So, we’re having this conversation in front of a civilian, and she’s not freaking out.”

“She told me this is what Kasumi and Sumire are doing to train when they aren’t in practice,” Hiraguchi spoke with determination. “I want in.”

Ren sat back in his seat and let out an upward pointed breath that lifted his black hair slightly. “I’m really trying to limit the number of women- Ow! Minako! I was kidding!” He rubbed his rubs. “Let me talk to the rest of the team. I highly doubt anyone objects. Do you have any moral objections to the Phantom Thieves?”

Hiraguchi didn’t seem to have any issues. “What? Who the fuck does?”

“We’ll be fine,” Ren said. “Just keep in mind, we hold ourselves to a high standard when it comes to targets. Everyone and I mean literally, everyone, has to agree, and we don’t just go after people without talking to everyone first.”

Hiraguchi glared at Minako for him. ‘Uh. That’s kind of helpful.’

Minako looked terrified. “I’m sorry! I was drunk!”

“That’s no excuse, Minako.” Ren huffed. “You put a teammate and three civilians in danger.”

“Wait, Sae and Naoto are civilians?” Minako raised an eyebrow. 

“We’ve never asked them to join,” Ren said. “And Naoto can’t really afford to be associated with us.”

“How many members do you have, exactly?” Hiraguchi asked. 

“16 officially.” Ren then started doing calculations in his head. “32 if you count everyone that occasionally helps out.”

“You have a literal army.”

“It’s weird how little we get done, honestly,” Ren said. “I always thought if I had a team this big, we’d take over Tokyo or something, but nope. We spend most of our time fuckin’ around.”

“You guys could use some discipline.”

Ren scoffed. “Be my guest.”

“Don’t tell her that!” Minako interrupted.

Her protests went ignored and Ren continued with more questioning, mostly making sure Hiraguchi wasn’t a spook, which she definitely was not, and she was insulted he asked.

After the brief questioning, Ren scratched the back of his head. “Did the palace collapse?”

Minako and Hiraguchi looked at each other. “Yeah?”

“Oh.” Ren sighed. “That means something screwy is going on with Sae’s palace.”

===

Everyone’s morning would have gone much more smoothly if Rio had a hangover.

Or at least, that’s what she told herself. If she’d had more to drink, she’d find a way to convince herself she was only angry because of the hangover. That’s what Minato chalked it up to, but he had never been more wrong in either of his lives, and he was now paying the price with nobody there to help him. Kana refused to take sides, Kat was too busy nursing Ken back to health, and Yukari couldn’t bring herself to face him. 

At least Tae’s lifeless body snuggled on the couch with Koromaru gave them a reason to argue quietly. 

Rio couldn’t recall much of what Minato said, and she didn’t want to. Something to do with how he could still be mad and the wishes of the dead, or whatever. He acted like coming back from the dead was an inevitability, which Rio found preposterous. Or maybe pre-paw-sterous. Akira was trying very hard to cheer her up. She sat leaned against the wall while the puppy ran back and forth, jumping over her legs, occasionally missing and plopping down on her lap. She sighed. Even when things were bad, they weren’t _terrible._ Rio made the executive decision that she wouldn’t let Minato being a dickhead ruin her Sunday. She’d find other people. 

“Isn’t Tae your ride home?” Somebody, probably Yukari, asked. 

“I’ll be okay,” Rio shrugged off the questioning and left, making her way outside and towards the train station. Anything was better than spending the one day off she had on that dead atmosphere. The difficulty came in figuring out how to spend the day. Finding a friend shouldn’t be that difficult, but she wasn’t sure who she could trust to be up and at it this early in the morning. Ren was probably awake, but he was probably with Sumire. Kasumi was either third-wheeling with them or bugging her boyfriend. Ann and Shiho were probably off being gross somewhere because all they ever did was make eyes at each other whenever they had to be around other people. 

Ryuji could probably hang out, but that ran the risk of angering Haru, who’s eyes held red flags brighter than the sun. She wasn’t about to run the risk of figuring out what it felt like to get waterboarded. 

‘How do I have so many friends and nobody to hang out with?’ She sighed and took off to LeBlanc. She was bound to run into somebody there.

Minako, Ren, and a woman Rio didn’t recognize sat in a booth discussing something to do with Sae Niijima, which was almost never a good thing. If Sae was involved, it usually meant somebody was in legal trouble. 

Rio slid into the booth next to Ren.

“What’d I miss?” She eyed up the newb and noticed her earrings. “Gauges?”

The woman smiled politely and nodded. “I’ll get them stretched eventually.”

“That’s so cool. Tae told me I could get any piercings I wanted, but gauges are off-limits.” 

“I imagine they’re a hindrance when fighting.” 

“Oh.” Rio looked at Ren. “So, she knows?”

Ren nodded and sighed. “Talk to Minako about that one.”

“They told me we needed muscle and-” Minako’s voice took on a whiny tinge, similar to that of a child caught stealing cookies.

“You took it literally?” Rio facepalmed. “What happened to Tae?”

“I think she tried to drink herself to death when we got back,” the woman replied before Minako could. “Akari Hiraguchi, by the way.” 

“Rio Fujinami. I’ve heard your name somewhere,” Rio scratched her chin trying to remember.

“I coach Kasumi and Sumire for gymnastics.”

“Oh! You’re the scary coach!” Rio exclaimed.

Hiraguchi seemed taken aback. “Did they really call me scary?”  
“Oh, no. The twins adore you.” Rio said. “Minako did.”

“You think I’m scary!?” 

===

_Afternoon_

Nanako had specifically been warned that she was not to answer the door for strangers many times, but rarely did she listen. Her dad only grumbled anyway. Dojima was usually too tired after work to fight her over it, and it wasn’t like the mayor was going to try and kidnap her again.

Besides, if this skinny man with black glasses and a friendly smile was dangerous, Nanako would take her chances. Sitting at home while her dad solved crimes was boring. Besides, the skinny, black-haired, middle-aged man knocking on the door looked friendly enough and she wasn’t the scared little girl she used to be.

“Hello,” Nanako said, still sounding like a scared little girl.

“Hi,” the man said. He had a quiet voice. “Is Dojima-san home?”

Nanako shook her head. “He’s working at the police station today. Is something wrong?”

“No,” the man smiled. “Sorry. I don’t know either of you very well. I’m Masashi Amamiya.”

Nanako knew where she’d heard that name. ‘Where have I heard that name?’ She thought about calling Rise. She thought she’d heard her mention that name before. “I heard your brother is working in Tokyo. I was wondering if he could get a message to my son.”

“Oh.” Nanako looked at the man and mulled over her thoughts. She couldn’t find a good reason to distrust him. “I can do that much. Don’t you have a way of reaching him?”  
He shook his head. “It was court mandated that we not have any contact.” He rubbed the back of his head and gave a thoughtful look. “I should have ignored it but-”

It hit Nanako. “Oh!” She smiled back. “I think I’ve heard Rise mention an Amamiya.”

“You know where Ren is?”

Nanako nodded. “It could be a coincidence, though. I can give her a call.”

“Thank you!” Nanako didn’t expect to get wrapped in a hug by a stranger, but he was over the moon. “I’m sorry. I just never thought I’d see him again.” He wore a sad expression. “He may not be too thrilled to hear from me, but his step-mother and I really miss him. We didn’t do enough to help him.”

“Why are you reaching out now?” Nanako asked, perhaps stealing an expression from her dad.

Masashi laughed, because 13-year-old Nanako hadn’t quite mastered the hard gaze in the same way her father had. “He’s been cleared of all charges. Ren gets to come home.”

===

“Nanako!” Rise was in the middle of a shoot when her phone rang, and she always dropped everything for Nanako. “How’s it going?”

“Good,” Nanako said, sounding sad. “I’m tired of sitting at home while dad works.”

“Ya know, I was about your age when we started-”

“I know!” Nanako said excitedly. “I don’t think I’ll get to have as much fun, though. Dad would kill me.”

Rise rolled her eyes, although Nanako didn’t know that. “Yu would probably strangle you.”

“Yeah.” 

Rise could hear some hesitation in her voice. “What’d you call for?”

“Do you know Ren Amamiya?”

“I do,” Rise said. What could Ren have possibly gotten himself into now if Nanako was asking about him? “Why?”

“His dad dropped by this morning asking if Yu could get a message to him.”

“I’ll talk to Yu, just let me grab a piece of paper and… got it.” Rise reached over to one of the stagehand’s desks and stole a pen and paper.

“Misashi told me that Ren has been cleared of all charges and he is allowed to return home and…” Nanako rattled off a phone number Ren’s dad could be reached at.

Rise’s heart skipped a beat. “No way.” 

“Is something wrong?”

“I’ll know when I talk to Yu.” Rise suddenly didn’t feel well. She wrapped up the shoot and immediately called Yu, who was just as troubled. He made plans to drop in at LeBlanc that night, with no good idea how to break the news. They didn’t know how Ren would take it.

===

_Evening_

“C’mon, Senpai!” Ren had been roped into learning gymnastics after Sumire complained that they hadn’t been training in the metaverse enough. He didn’t want to make a Mementos trip, or a trip into Maruki’s whatever the fuck it was, without a full team so he compromised.

Ren immediately regretted his compromise. It shouldn’t have surprised him Sumire was every bit as disciplined as the woman that Ren shared a booth with that morning. He still hadn’t broken _that_ news to Sumire. Ren figured she would become more demanding had she known their next trip to Mementos would feature their coach. The only thing Sumire wanted more than Ren’s affection was Hiraguchi’s approval.

God, Ren really hated stretching. They had to limit their exercises because Sojiro could hear them from downstairs.They learned that performing a completely different, albeit slightly similar set of activities.

“Kid! You’ve got visitors!” Sojiro yelled from downstairs.

“Oh, thank god-” Sumire shot daggers his way. “I mean, okay, be down in a second!”

Rise spotted them first coming down the stairs. Yu was too busy drooling over the plate of curry in front of him.

“You guys are sweaty,” Rise giggled, glancing at Yu, who had no interest. “I wonder what you were up to!”

“We were just getting a good stretch in,” Sumire chirped.

“You realize how that sounds-” Ren sighed. “Nevermind. You two just stopping for coffee?”

Yu looked up from his food at Rise and mumbled “I wish.”

“Well, before you tell me the news, Minako already met our stupid quota for the day so I’m going to have to ask you to save it for tomorrow.” Ren grinned, knowing Yu had a better head on his shoulders than either of the Arisatos.

Rise sighed and looked apprehensive. “No, he needs to hear this.” It sounded like she was talking to herself. She looked at Yu, who wanted no part of breaking the news. “I got a call from Nanako today. Your father stopped by their house.”

‘My father? I have a dad?’ Ren hadn’t heard a peep from his parents in a literal century, to no real fault of theirs. He tried hard to remember why he didn’t reach out to them his first trip through. Something about remembering back that far made his chest hurt, and his head go light. He lowered himself into a booth. “I didn’t know-”

“Nanako said you’ve been cleared of all charges.” Rise scooted into the booth across from him. “One of the terms of your probation restricted contact with your family.”

“That’s so needlessly cruel,” Sumire said. “Why would they do that?”

“Because Shido was a dick.” Yu shook his head, then took another bite.

Sumire sniffled. “This is so- wait. Does that mean Senpai will have to go home?” Her shocked expression displayed her thoughts, no words needed.

“I can’t.” Ren said. “I’m staying here.”

Sojiro interrupted. “You didn’t ask me.”

“Can I stay here?” Sojiro deciding he couldn’t stay would create a whole other set of issues.

“What the fuck would I do without you? Did you even need to ask?” Sojiro laughed but everyone else grumbled. “Sorry,” Sojiro said in an uncharacteristically sheepish tone. “Just trying to lighten the mood.”

“Did my dad leave a number?”

Rise nodded and slid a piece of paper over. 

“Did he leave a name?” He received odd looks from everyone. “I haven’t seen him in 112 years. Apologies if I don’t remember the bastard’s name.” Ren stormed upstairs. “I need to be alone.”

He wished he had a door to slam.

===

_Monday, July 4, Lunchtime_

“What’s up with Ren?” Ryuji was met with a pregnant pause from the rest of the rooftop. He didn’t notice the near-tearful look Sumire sent his way, but Rio did. Ren was conspicuous by his absence.

Rio directed the conversation towards Sumire, who looked back at her with a sad expression.

She nodded. “Ren doesn’t want to talk about it.”

“That’s cool, so while he sulks we can all be concerned.” Rio sighed, recalling Yukari’s words. ‘All you wildcards are the same.’ 

“Sounds familiar,” Kana said, directing an angry glare at her boyfriend. 

“I’ll talk to him.” Attention turned to Goro. “I think we all forget the toll all this takes on him. And no offense, but we aren’t the easiest bunch to keep in line.”

“Yeah, _Shiho,”_ Ann teased, flicking Shiho’s ear.

“Ow! You love it, Blondie,” Shiho shot back.

“I’m serious.” Goro sighed. “A good majority of us had intimate relationships with Ren in previous lives that we don’t remember. I can’t imagine that doesn’t eat him up inside.”

“He acted like we were best friends from the second we met,” Ryuji added. “I didn’t even know the guy.”

“He forced me into acknowledging things weren’t right within days of transferring,” Makoto said. “I’m grateful for that.”

Shiho nodded. “I was next on that bastard Kamoshida’s list until Ren came along. Then he saved Ann.”

“Then me,” Rio added.

“Us, too,” Kat said. “Me ‘n Kana would still be in that shitty perfect world if it weren’t for Ren.”

“I-” Sumire started. “I don’t think I need to go into detail on why I’m grateful to him.”

“Is it that good that you have to thank him after?”

Everyone glared at Kasumi.

“So, maybe we should all try and figure out what the hell is wrong with him.” Makoto changed the subject back. 

===

_After School_

Ren was washing dishes when Goro walked into LeBlanc.

“Boss, I need to steal Ren for a bit.” He walked right up to a seat where Ren couldn’t hide from him.

“That’s fine,” Sojiro said. “The dishes will be there when he gets back.”

“No, it’s fine, Boss, I can finish them,” Ren said, ignoring Goro’s presence. He had no plans of going anywhere, still adamant to be alone. 

“I’m afraid I’m not asking,” Goro said, approaching the counter. 

“I don’t feel like-”

Goro cut him off. “Again, I’m not asking. You’re coming with me.”

Ren glared at Akechi. He’d heard that tone before, but it’d been awhile. “Excuse me?” He started undoing his apron and walked around the counter. 

“We’re taking a walk, and you’re going to listen to me for a bit.”

Ren wanted to protest, but he didn’t. “Fine.” 

They exited LeBlanc and walked around Yongen-Jaya, Ren trying to ignore the fact that this could be the last time he ever got to just take in the sights of his home. The stray cats, the run-down second hand store, the day-drunk alcoholics. It was stupid, but he couldn’t imagine himself living anywhere else. ‘What was my plan?’ Ren couldn’t remember. He couldn’t live in LeBlanc’s attic forever, but long gone was any plan for after he escaped. 

“Everyone is worried.” Goro was straight to the point. 

“What?” Ren said, trying to act confused.

“You didn’t show up to school today. Sumire said you didn’t want to talk about it.” Goro kicked at a rock as they were walking. It skidded into a metal trash can, making a satisfying noise. Ren wanted to focus on anything else.

“I wasn’t feeling well.” Not a lie.

“Did something happen?” Goro raised an eyebrow.

Ren sighed and remained silent for a while. They’d reached an area of Yongen-Jaya he didn’t know that well. There were some buildings where businesses used to be and a couple homes packed in between like sardines. 

“Do you realize how much shit you’ve dragged everyone into?” Goro gave a frustrated noise, uncharacteristic of his usual behavior. “We are all grateful for everything you’ve done for us, but you cannot just shut down like this. Like it or not, you’re important to us, even if you aren’t sure we’ll remember this in a year’s time.”

“I talked to my dad.”

That took Goro off guard. “Your dad?”

“The charges were dropped.” Ren sighed. “I called him earlier. I’m to return home after the semester is over.”

“No…” Goro’s heart broke. “We have so much left to-”

“This ruins everything. I can’t just drop everything.” Ren’s voice broke. “I asked Sojiro. He lost guardianship now that I can move home, and my dad wants me back. He-” He chewed on his lower lip to prevent himself from crying. “He misses me. I don’t even remember him.”

Goro remained silent, stopping their walk to lean against a wall. 

“I don’t remember him, or my sisters, or my step-mom. He cried. He told me how much they loved me and how badly they want me back, and how much my probation killed them.”

“You can’t stay here, can you?” Goro understood at least part of the way Ren worked. “Every time you have a problem, you throw yourself at somebody else’s.”

Ren nodded. “You guys will be fine without me.”

“You have no obligation to these people. Blood relation doesn’t-”

“We aren’t all you, Akechi!”

Goro didn’t like when Ren used his surname. It always came out with a spit.

“My only living family actually wants me. Yours wanted you dead.”

The words hit Goro in the gut. Instead of responding, he started to walk away.

“Wait, I-”

“We can talk again when you’re done acting like a goddamn imbecile.” Goro thought of Tae and Rio. “I understand wanting to protect those closest to you. I wish that courtesy extended to the Phantom Thieves.”

“I-”

“We’re going to Mementos tomorrow,” Goro said. “You’re welcome to join us. If you haven’t forgotten, Minako has something at the bottom she’d like to deal with.”

===

_Evening_

“Yu, this isn’t your problem to solve,” Yosuke said. Yu had been distracted all night, and after his eighth straight win on FIFA, Yosuke was concerned. He normally got his ass kicked. “Ren will figure it out. He seems like a bright kid.”

Yu shook his head. “You didn’t see his face when we broke the news.”

“I’ve never seen somebody so heartbroken,” Rise said. 

“He’s stretched so thin.” Yu dropped his controller and leaned back into his seat. “And he feels the need to protect everyone. I think the weight of finding out he’s got a real, loving family is crushing him.”

“Had he really gone that long without talking to them?” Yosuke asked. “I remember the Amamiya’s. They seemed like a normal family but nothing more. Why did he avoid them?”

“Rules of his probation.”

“That’s fucking bullshit,” Yosuke said. “Wait.”

“What?”

Yosuke puffed out his chest. “I have an idea.” 

“That’s never good,” Yu said, sharing a look with Rise. 

“What if Chie and I went back with him?” 

“Uh,” Yu said. “I don’t know if that’s-”

“Think about it. I can get my job back, and you want to tell me Chie couldn’t get a job with the police department on the spot?”

“He’s got a point,” Rise said. “Plus, Yukiko would be thrilled to have Chie home.”

“I don’t get how this helps Ren.”

“We’re his link back here. Chie has a car, and Tokyo isn’t that long of a drive.” Yosuke stood up, celebrating his own plan. “We can have him come home, and help him keep his connection here.”

“That’s not a bad idea at all, Yosuke,” Yu furrowed his brow. “Kinda weird how much credit Naoto gets for solving our cases. I remember you-”

“Yu, now is _not_ the time.” Rise grabbed his ear. “I like the idea, Yosuke.”

Souji came around the corner. “Think I could go, too?”

===

It was extremely rare for Makoto’s parents to let her be alone with Goro in her room with the door shut, but her father granted them privacy. Goro could barely keep himself together. It probably helped that Sae and Ari were out getting tea. Takeo was far less strict than either of them.

Goro looked as miserable as one could possibly look. Any time Makoto asked what happened, he couldn’t answer, any attempt at words choked out by stifled sobs. He broke once they were alone.

“The charges against Ren have been dropped.” They were happy words said in a somber tone. 

Makoto startled, and sat next to him on the edge of the bed. 

“His family wants him to come home.”

‘Ah,’ Makoto thought. ‘There’s the kicker.’ “He can’t-”

“He is. Ren’s leaving us.”

“We have so much left to do.” Makoto stammered through the words. “What about his escape?”

“Ren misses his family more.”

“I-” Makoto understood why Goro was upset. “What about us? What about ending this loop? He can’t just leave!”

“Blood relation is, apparently, more important to him than everything we’ve been through,” Goro spat. 

“Are you sure he’s leaving? Getting out of this loop should be the only thing that matters to him.” Makoto didn’t believe for a second that Ren thought his way out involved returning home.

“I’m not convinced he truly believes he can escape.” Goro shook his head. “The fact that he is even considering it is an insult to everything we’ve been through.”

“We should try and talk him out of it.” Her voice became panicky. “We’re going to keep him here. He’s not going anywhere.”

Goro raised an eyebrow. “What are you planning?”

Makoto’s red eyes had some mischief in them. “Think he could say no to Sumire?”

Before Goro could answer, they heard a knock at the door, not the door to Makoto’s room, but the one to the apartment.

Makoto opened her door to see her father standing in front of three officers. The one in front was older, a bit younger than her father. He was accompanied by two younger officers, one of them standing just barely in the doorway. He towered over her father, and had to duck to get into the room.

“Are you Takeo Niijima?” The older officer had a deep voice that reminded Makoto of somebody. She couldn’t remember who.

“I am,” her father replied coolly. “What can I help you with?”

He should’ve taken the opportunity to scramble, or run, because the smaller of the two younger officers shifted gears quickly, getting behind him and fastening him in handcuffs.

“Takeo Niijima, you are being arrested as a suspect in the murder of Ayumi Nakagawa.” 

Her father’s shouts were drowned out as the cop shoved him against a wall. He spoke breathlessly. “I had nothing to-” His attempts to speak stopped when he noticed Makoto and Goro watching.

“It’s unusual for a cold case to get solved,” the arresting officer said. And Makoto knew it hadn’t been solved. Sae had looked into the case.

One of the others spoke. “But when you just randomly reappeared, we knew something was-”

“Dad didn’t do anything,” Makoto pushed her way through to get the officer off her dad.

“Makoto, stop-”

Her dad’s words were cut off by the largest officer. “Do you want to come with us, too?” 

She started her way towards them but Goro grabbed her by the rest, holding her in position. Makoto could have easily broken his grip, but she knew he was right.

The officers pulled Makoto’s father through the door with no struggle.

She immediately pulled her phone out and dialed Sae’s number. This would not stand. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, part 3 of an already split chapter might get split again because I created a whole ass character arc out of a single vague line in my outline. Whoops.
> 
> My beta, upon reading this chapter, told me he never expected to see this kind of drama in my fic. 
> 
> The next chapter of Covering the Phantom Thieves will be out Monday, and the next chapter of this will be out next Friday. I have some other smaller stories I have that were literally written in the margins of this fic that may get posted if I think they're worth the time when I reread them. 
> 
> Also, one additional thing I noticed after watching Kill la Kill. Rio is basically Ryuuko. Not the exact same character, but I think when I came up with the idea for an OC, that's where the idea came from, so if you're the type of person that needs an image of what somebody looks and acts like for when I can't put it properly into words, there you go. Less boobs in this fic, though. Actually, no boobs or nudity at all, unless it's meant to be embarrassing. 
> 
> One final thing: Thanks for reading. This has been a lot of fun so far. Now I'm going to go play Hades until somebody tells me I have to work again.


	55. Crossroads, Part 3

_ Monday, June 4, Evening _

The caller ID read “Goro Akechi.” Ren decided it couldn’t be that important, so he let it go. 

“Goro can leave a message if he wants.” He sighed. 

“You’re not going to get anywhere by shutting your friends out,” Sojiro had come up the stairs after Ren stormed back in. It shook Ren away from his thoughts. “Kid.” Sojiro’s voice took on an authority that usually only came at the start of a time loop.

“What can I possibly do?”

“You could talk to them without insulting them.” Sojiro lectured. “I don’t know what you said to Goro, but nobody who feels  _ right _ about what they said acts how you’re behaving.” 

Ren shifted, seated on his bed. He didn’t know if his eyes were as dead as they felt. “He doesn’t want me to go home.”

“Neither do I, Ren.” Sojiro took a deep breath. “Do you really want to go home?”

“I-” Ren stammered. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen my family in so long that I’m just too damn curious.”

Sojiro laughed. “The trouble always starts when you get curious about anything. But you’re happy here. And you’re settled in here. You’re the happiest I’ve seen you since the shit hit the fan.”

“Am I happy?” Ren huffed. “I feel like I got complacent. What do I really have-”

“I swear to god, kid, if I thought I could hit you and get away with it, you’d have a shiner.” Sojiro scoffed. “Are you really going to look at all those friends and ask ‘what do I have here?’ Seriously?”

“That’s not what I meant. It just feels static.”

“Want to tell that to Sumire?” Sojiro had broken the hearts of his fair share of women in his day. None of them were as fragile as Sumire. “You leaving  _ will _ break her.”

“You don’t even know-”

“I’ve had that look in my eyes before, Ren,” Sojiro recalled fondly. “You never really recover after falling in love the first time.”

Ren let out a sardonic chuckle. “You? In love? With who?”

“Take a wild guess.” Sojiro looked down.

“Wakaba.” Ren tried to grin but couldn’t. He still felt like garbage.

Sojiro nodded. “She was never interested, though. Shit, I shouldn’t even be admitting that. Reiko would kill me.” He trailed off. “It’s not just Sumire. You literally rescued Goro out of a gutter. Did you think he’d take this well?”

“I really muffed that up,” Ren said sadly. His phone rang again. It was Goro. 

Sojiro started heading downstairs. “Answer that call, and tell him you’re sorry. If you don’t, I’m kicking you out, and you’re living on the streets like he did. I’ll tell your dad you’re dead or something.”

“Thanks, boss.” Ren picked up the line. “Goro, hey. I’m sorry about earlier-”

“Ren, Makoto’s dad has been arrested.” Goro’s voice was completely panicked, and Ren could hear Makoto and Sae arguing in the background while their mom played mediator.

“What? Why?”

“They claimed he’s the culprit in a cold case and-” Goro paused. “Shit, Ren. I have to go. Makoto just-” he stopped again. “Get here when you can.”

Ren sprinted downstairs. “Sojiro, I need a ride now.”

“Do you think I’m a taxi or-”

“Sojiro, please. I’m begging you.” Sojiro read Ren’s expression and relented. 

“Fine. Let’s go. But you’re telling me what happened on the way.”

“I thought you didn’t want to know.”

“You look like you need to talk about it.”

===

The chaos had died down at the Niijima household by the time Ren arrived. Makoto was sitting on the couch, holding her mother. They were both in tears. Seeing Makoto cry was a strange sight, and Ren could see a darkness in Goro only he could recognize.

Sae stood off to the side, having a panicked conversation with who Ren could only guess was Mitsuru Kirijo. He only heard one side of the conversation.

“I know this is retaliation.” Sae paused. “Yes.” Another pause. “I’ll reach out in the morning.” Sae’s expression changed to exasperated. “I’m not going to do anything rash, I just-”

Ren had to suppress a chuckle.

“That background check was more thorough than I’m comfortable with.” She sighed. “Fine. Thank you. I’ll pick him up in a bit.”

Sae paced back and forth before coming back into the conversation with those in the room. “Kirijo is wiring the money to bail dad out of jail. I’m heading to the station to pick him up, and we’ll have a lawsuit filed for wrongful arrest and incarceration the second the courts open tomorrow.”

“There’s no chance he’s guilty, right?” Goro asked, and Ren immediately wanted to drag him outside to prevent him from getting murdered. Takeo might not be the only Niijima getting arrested for murder tonight if he continued further.

“Are you kidding me?” Sae and Makoto spoke at the same time, then looked at each other. Makoto continued. “Do you really think he would do something like that?”

“No. Absolutely not,” Goro said. “I’m sorry.”

Ren was still glaring at him.

“That was insensitive. I’m worried the police will contact Tae.”

“What? Why would they call-” Sae immediately interrupted her sister.

“Ayumi was her best friend.” She ran her hands through her hair. “The case was cold, and Tae hasn’t heard anything in years.”

Goro started gathering his things and headed towards the door.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to warn Tae before they can talk to her,” Goro huffed. “This is going to ruin her life. The least I can do is stem the damage.”

“I’ll stay here with mom,” Makoto said. “Will you be okay by yourself?”

Goro nodded. “I’ll be fine.”

“I’m going with you,” Ren said. He felt compelled to be there for Goro. 

He expected Goro to protest, but he gave a small, determined smile. “Thank you, Ren.”

They exited the Niijima apartment and made their way down to the first floor in silence. Ren started to apologize, but Goro stopped him.

“This isn’t the time, and you’re forgiven. I should have given you time, and I pushed you to talk before you were ready.”

Ren didn’t reply.

===

Tae didn’t let the police in her front door. Whether that was because she had enough weed on her for an intent to sell charge or because she didn’t trust cops in general, Ren would never know. 

Regardless, they weren’t giving her the story they wanted her to hear with a door between them. Ren and Goro decided to wait it out around the corner where the cops couldn’t see them.

“Miss Takemi-” The cop banging on the door was interrupted immediately.

“That’s Dr. Takemi, pig!” Tae grunted. “I didn’t spend six years in medical school to get disrespected by an adult-sized middle-schooler!”

Another voice could be heard from inside the apartment. “Bro-” Tae interrupted it immediately. Ren and Goro assumed it was best to get the cops away from the door.

“Watch your mouth!”

Ren could barely hold in a laugh. “Excuse me, officer,” Ren, with Goro at his side, approached the man. “I don’t mean to pry, but could you tell me what you’re looking for?”

“Do either of you live here?”

“I do,” Goro said.

The cop returned a stern gaze at Goro, then gave a knowing glance. “Oh!” Then he gave a friendly smile. “We’ve met before.”

Goro flinched. “No offense, sir, but I don’t typically associate with cops.” ‘Except for your girlfriend, her dad, her sister, Naoto, Chie, Akihiko…’ Ren rolled his eyes. 

The man removed his cap and rubbed his bald spot. “Can’t say I blame you. Thank god Shirogane was there that day. I’ll tell you what. Can you have Miss- erm. I mean, Dr. Takemi drop by the station tomorrow? We have some news she will want to hear.” He knocked on the door again. “I’m sorry for the scare, ma’am.” He looked like he regretted nearly beating the door down on his way to his car.

“It’s hard to believe they’re not all cartoonishly evil,” Goro said with a sigh, pulling out his key and unlocking the door. Ren nodded. That cop seemed like a good guy, and Tae was definitely up to shady shit because she literally had a joint held to her lips when they walked in.

“Do you really need to do that  _ seconds _ after a cop leaves?” Ren asked.

“Do I come into  _ your _ attic and tell you how to live your life?” Tae sighed. “And yes. Run-ins with the cops stress me out.”

“She bought way more this time than she usually does,” Kat said. “Got two of yas smokin’ it.”

Goro blinked hard and ignored the conversation entirely. “I come with news. Takeo Niijima, Makoto’s father, has been arrested on false accusations of murdering Ayumi Nakagawa.”

“What?” Tae stood up. “They made an arrest?”

“In retaliation.” Goro sat down next to Kat on the sofa, while Ren took a seat on a stray kitchen chair. “He pointed Sae in the right direction on the case, but when she left, they must’ve gotten into her files and discovered she was looking into the case.”

“And they pinned it on her father…” They expected Tae to be upset, but she laughed and laughed. “Ayumi would find this hilarious.”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “What’s funny about this?”

“Nothing!” Rio shouted from the other room. “I’m trying to fucking study!” She slammed her door.

“‘Sup with her?” Kat inquired.

“Dunno. She’s been pretty bitchy today,” Tae shrugged.

The music coming from Rio’s room got much, much louder.

_ Aww, shit. I wish I had a job to quit.  _

_ I wish I had a boss that I could tell to fuck off. _

_ Give me the satisfaction of a dramatic exit, _

_ And not just a _

_ Long car ride and a short goodbye in a parking lot. _

“Christ,” Ren said. “Are we sure she’s not just your clone?”

“This might surprise you, but I was much worse at that age. She hasn’t been arrested yet.”

Ren gave her a goofy look. “Yet?”

Tae nodded. “Give it time. Already got the bail money saved up.”

“I simultaneously wish you were my mother and am terrified that people like you are raising children.”

“Weird, my therapist said the same thing.”

===

_ Tuesday, June 5, Early Morning _

“Have you ever…” Kaoru didn’t know how to ask this question. He’d been having a lot of nightmares lately that he had no idea how to explain. “Have you ever been in a fire?”

“What?” Miki gave him a peculiar look. “Like, inside of a burning building? Absolutely not.”

“I keep having this dream that you’re trapped in a burning building, and I can’t do anything about it.” Kaoru’s voice was pained. Their train ride to school was usually when they ran questions about the previous night’s homework by each other, not sharing the details of their dreams. “No matter what I do, it’s like there’s this shadow keeping me there.”

“Kaoru, it’s just a nightmare,” Miki provided a reassuring smile. “It’s sweet that you’re dreaming of me, though.” Miki couldn’t help but feel at odds with herself. Something about Kaoru’s question set her wheels turning.

It would be a long day at school that day.

===

_ Morning _

Sae tried to ignore the fact that her father looked elderly for the first time. He hadn’t slept after getting bailed out of jail the night prior. There wasn’t anything Sae, Makoto or Ari could do to force him to sleep. He never thought he’d see the inside of a jail cell. 

Takeo wasn’t as pushed forward by justice as his daughters. He took no relief when they told him his unjust arrest would be avenged. Instead, he looked at them with pity. He waited for Sae to leave before speaking his mind to his wife.

“I can’t believe my two little girls are so caught up in revenge…”

“Takeo.” Ari’s stern tone let him know he needed to shut up immediately. “They watched you get dragged out by three men when you were going peacefully.”

“I know,” he sighed. “I didn’t do it, but I can prove I didn’t. I just need-”

“You don’t  _ need _ anything. You have two daughters that are going to fight tooth and nail to keep this from sticking. There’s no easy way out. There’s no ‘look how honorable I am.’” Ari moved out from behind the counter where she was making coffee. “Do you honestly think it’s normal for the police to make a breakthrough on a cold case and  _ not _ notify the press first?”

“...” Takeo didn’t want to reply, but she had a point. “There’s always a circus when they break a cold case.”

“Notice how there are no headlines this morning that say ‘Ex-Cop Murders Young Intern?’”

“That would be…”

“That’s because this is nothing more than a retaliatory arrest.” Ari’s hands were shaking. “God. It’s hard to believe you need things spelled out for you like this, sometimes.”

The words sounded harsh, but this was how Ari had always been. Takeo smiled. “It’s a good thing you came back with me. Losing you was like getting a lobotomy.”

She laughed and swatted his shoulder softly.

===

Sae tried to take the day off to take care of her father’s case, but she had a message from Mitsuru that she needed to be in the office today for a meeting. Given the lighter workload and unavoidable cult of personality Kirijo carried, Sae couldn’t say no. 

The walk to Mitsuru’s office was much lonelier than Sae remembered it, probably because she was too busy being starstruck to place the white, void-like walls. Fuuka met her halfway down the hallway.

“Hi, Sae-san.” Sae wasn’t sure Fuuka had a facial expression between cheerful and horrified. 

“Fuuka,” Sae greeted. “What’s the meeting about?”

“Mitsuru will explain it better. We came up with a plan, but she wanted to make sure you were okay with it.” Sae assumed she’d like the plan, judging from the rare confidence in Fuuka’s voice. 

“Is it anything I can help with?”

“Would you let us fix things without your help?” Fuuka teased. 

They entered Mitsuru’s office. Ken and Junpei threw a frisbee back and forth while Koromaru chased it back and forth, a bark escaping occasionally. Mitsuru typed away at something on her desktop, but given the amusement on her face, Sae assumed it wasn’t work-related. 

Mitsuru acknowledged everyone she was expecting was present, then slid the monitor away. She walked over to the small living area in her absurdly large office, where they all sat around a coffee table. She looked to Sae first. “I hope this wasn’t presumptuous of me, but your father’s arrest was probably retaliatory.”

“No shit,” Junpei muttered.

Sae was surprised Mitsuru ignored him, but she started speaking without acknowledging him. “Given recent developments, I thought we had a few options for securing his safety.” 

“Kaida has to have a palace, right?” Sae had been fantasizing about decking Kaida for months. Punching his shadow was the next best thing.

Mitsuru nodded in agreement. “I checked last night after you called. He does have a palace, but we’d need the keywords. As of now, we only have a name and a location. We need a label for the distortion.”

“Did you try greed?” Sae assumed that had something to do with his behavior.

Mitsuru shrugged. “I did. We have another option, though. Police Chief Tsunoda has a shadow in Mementos, ideally a much easier target.”

“I only know of Mementos.” Sae had heard both Ren and Makoto talk about it, but she’d never been. 

“It’s an unknown entity,” Mitsuru admitted, concern apparent on her face. “But it is home to many shadows that seem to be lower level than ones that would develop a palace.”

“Is Tsunoda high up enough on the food chain that his confession would take down those above him?” Sae sighed. “I was able to pull records on him. He didn’t have the same security safeguards in place as the more central figures had.”

“I didn’t realize you’d looked into him,” Mitsuru said with a small smile. “I should have known better.” 

“He’s a goof.” Then Sae glanced at Junpei. “Not the good kind of goof.”

“Hey, whaddya-”

Ken interrupted him before he could finish. He’d been paying more attention to Koromaru than to the conversation, Sae thought. “I think that was a compliment, Junpei-san.”

“Being a goof is all part of the charm. I probably wouldn’t be married without it,” Junpei said with a thumbs up.

“That’s because Chidori-san doesn’t understand your humor, or why it’s obnoxious,” Ken rolled his eyes. 

“Back on topic.” Both of them looked at each other guiltily at Mitsuru’s order. “Sae, do you think it’s worth going after Tsunoda?”

She shrugged. “Can we go after Kaida today?”

“Probably not,” Mitsuru said with a frown.

“Then I’d say this is a good start. At the very least, pressure from the police to drop charges can put a dent in these conspirators’ plans.”

“I’ll keep looking into possibilities for a distortion and location,” Fuuka said. “I may need to seek out somebody more experienced.”

“You can just say Wakaba,” Sae teased.

“I wasn’t going to ask her, though,” Fuuka said. “I thought Futaba might know better.”

Ken didn’t look like he enjoyed the idea. “Don’t let her anywhere near your phone.”

Fuuka scoffed. “Oh, please. She can’t be that bad.”

Sae shared a knowing look with Ken. “I wouldn’t be so sure.”

Mitsuru stood up from her seat, signifying the meeting’s end. “Sae, please continue your investigation into Kaida. The connection between him and your father’s arrest cannot be ignored.”

===

_ After School _

Yuuki absentmindedly whistled a tune while everyone argued over who went with who. He didn’t really mind what group went where, but considering one half of the Phantom Thieves was supposed to be fighting their way to a lower level of Mementos, he assumed the other group would suit him better. Yuuki’s main worry was being a hindrance on the battlefield. Although he wanted to fight, he believed it would be wise to send their strongest the route that involved actual fighting. It helped, Yuuki thought, that his bureaucrat father worked with Kaida on occasion. He didn’t have much, but there were a few stories. 

“Sae has the right to go after Kaida immediately,” Makoto argued back when Mitsuru tried to take the lead. 

“I didn’t realize Ren left already, Kirijo-san,” Sumire retorted. “I thought we all agreed he was in charge.”

Yuuki sighed. They weren’t going to get anywhere. He knew from growing up with most of these kids that Makoto, Ann, and Shiho were the least likely to let somebody like Mitsuru Kirijo tell them what to do. And he still had that stupid tune stuck in his head.

“Sumire, you need to calm-” Yuuki respected Ren’s attempt. It was kind of adorable how protective she got when any situation involved Ren, like a guard dog.

“I just want to bust some heads,” Ryuji said. “I’m goin’ to Mementos.”

Kana spoke up after. “I’m down with that. No practice means I’m getting antsy.”

“Oh, is that all that has you feeling antsy?” Kat grinned, and Kana nearly shrieked. 

“She has seemed a little pent up lately.” Minato scrolled through his phone. “Don’t really know why.” His sister glared at him, although he didn’t pick up on it. 

Yuuki stopped paying attention when he remembered the name of the song invading his mind. “Too many cooks!”

“What?” He couldn’t keep track of who asked him. It would have been easier to count the people that didn’t ask what he meant.

“Sorry,” Yuuki shrugged. “I had a song caught in my head. It’s from an old bit on-”

“I think Yuuki hit the nail on the head,” Ken interrupted. “Too many cooks can ruin the stew.”

Goro started to speak up but stopped when he realized the stew was metaphorical. He had good advice on making a good stew. 

Everyone turned to Yuuki.

“Do you have a better idea?” Mitsuru questioned, without any malice in her voice, if that mattered.

Yuuki was shitting bricks. “Huh? I just had a-” then he scratched the back of his head and thought about it. “It would make sense for Sae and me to work with Ren, Futaba, and Mitsuru to find the keywords. Sae has worked with Kaida closely, and I have a few stories from my father that could aid in finding the keywords.”

“I can agree with that,” Ren said with a shrug. “And that gives us four fighters and a nav to recon the palace if we do find the words.”

“So, that gives us 16 to split up in Mementos.” Mitsuru looked at Minako. “I’m assuming she’s in charge of that group?”

“Her or Minato,” Ren said. “We’ll have two groups there. The Phansite has had a ridiculous amount of requests and we haven’t gotten to any of them. What better way to show everyone we’re still here than to knock out a dozen targets at once?”

“I’ll lead the group going after regular targets,” Minato volunteered. “Tsunoda’s deep, and Minako wants to get to the bottom ASAP anyway.” 

Minako agreed. “So, do we just pick teams?”

“That’s a terrible idea,” Ren said. “Whoever gets picked last is going to feel awful.”

“Uh,” Kat said. “I already know I’m going last. We good, boys.”

Mitsuru’s office started to look like a middle-school playground. Minato and Minako stood at the front of a group of hopeful Thieves wanting to get picked.

Minato picked Junpei first, which meant Minako got the next two picks. She picked Kasumi and Sumire. 

They made their picks, and then the two Mementos teams made their way to Shibuya.

===

Omen couldn’t believe Death picked her to be on her team like she hadn’t spent most of the weekend calling him out for being a moody asshole. They didn’t even have the courtesy to keep her and Plague together. Omen trusted the doctor to at least help her calm down. 

Ares’ group began at a deeper starting point, so Omen was officially in with no way out. 

Death directed an order to head down to the first floor of the Path of Chemdah, where a store manager named Nozomi Odo waited for them. Odo went down easy, barely able to handle a charged up Skull, and died immediately after Ken drove his spear through its chest. Ken refused a code name, and everyone else refused to allow Junpei a code name. He had too many ideas, none of which were good, before Death told him Stupei made an excellent code name. 

‘It’s nice to know Junpei has an off switch,’ Omen thought. He was a good volleyball coach and a great guy, but even when tensions were low, he was a bit much. 

They completed a few more requests, which ended up being pretty mindless, giving Omen time to think. She couldn’t place an exact reason or event that caused her rage towards Death. The oddity of taking time to reflect among the shrieks of dying shadows notwithstanding, Death wasn’t  _ that _ bad. He had his annoying qualities, but many of them were ones she found in herself. Moody, sulky, quick to anger. All of those things grew worse after moving in with Plague, but Omen knew better than to place the blame on the doctor. It had much more to do with the trauma she faced at her parents’ hands, and-

“Omen, look out!” Makoto grabbed her arm and pulled her away from an oncoming explosion. “Pay attention!”

Mountain slashed her sword into the monster, knocking it down, but the monster stopped them before commencing their all-out attack. 

“Wait!” None of them realized a monster could  _ look _ terrified, but this giant purple demon sitting on a toilet looked like he was about to shit himself.

And he was looking directly at Omen.

“Uh,” She spoke cautiously. “What’s up?”

“I was just chillin’ here, ‘n you guys just had to come stormin’ in,” the shadow said. “Have anythin’ to say for yourself?”

“Like, we could just kill you if we’re bothering you that much.” Omen shrugged. 

“No,” the shadow shook his head. “I’d prefer you didn’t.”

“Then, what do you want? This isn’t really a hostage situation, so unless you got something good to give us or something, we’re just going to-”

“What if I joined your cause?”   
“Excuse me?” This sounded absolutely ridiculous. “I know not all shadows are evil. Shit, Kasumi is dating one but-”

The shadow interrupted her. “I’m taking that as a yes. I am more than just a servant. I am lost among the sea of souls. My name is Belphegor.”

He turned into a light and flew into Omen’s mask.

Skull spoke first. “What the eff was that?”

“Beats me,” Omen shrugged, then pulled at her mask. Belphegor flew out behind her.

“I knew it!” Death shouted, a giant grin on his face. 

Kana gave him a peculiar glance, which made him wilt.

“Yukari told me she thought Omen was a wildcard. I didn’t believe her at first, but everything is starting to make more sense now.”

He ranted and raved about how exciting this all was, and Omen felt dumb about claiming Death was never happy. 

They continued their fight until they covered all the targets asked of them, and then they returned to Kirijo’s offices. Everyone agreed that today was successful for their team. 

===

“Holy shit,” Phoenix said. “This guy is fucking deep.”

“That’s what she said,” Panther snorted, earning eye-rolls from Plague and giggles from everyone else, including their fearless leader. 

Ares was quite happy to be leading a group again. She liked the laid back nature of just letting Joker do his thing and following up, but Ares felt like an actual functioning adult when she got to lead the charge. It was invigorating, and her attitude was infectious.

The shadows in the Path of Sheriruth were way higher level and much more in line with what Ares had been expecting when they first started making journeys into Mementos. She didn’t expect it to be as easy as the lower levels of Tartarus at the beginning, although now that she thought about it, that should have been exactly what she expected. Regardless, they took down shadow after shadow, some strong, some weak, some new, some old. 

Sadly, Plague forced Ares to stop using Mara before she could even summon, not allowing Panther, Phoenix, and Royal the opportunity to enjoy the hilarity. Plague felt Violet’s eyes would never recover from visions of Mara, which was an entirely fair assertion that almost made Ares feel bad for even thinking of using it. 

Tsunoda’s shadow room was no different from any other Mementos shadow, but his shadow self was an abomination. Ares couldn’t think of a better word.

Tsunoda was a stout man with a crazy mustache that looked like it belonged on a plumber, and his shadow looked ridiculous. Instead of the standard police getup, he was wearing a tactical vest with plate armor, a comically oversized pistol in his holster. Ares was sure Tsunoda would say something stupid but instead took his shadow form with a roar.

“Typical,” Plague said. “Shoot first, ask questions later.”

Tsunoda’s shadow wasn’t a joke. Panta Rhei swiped at Shiho, knocking her off her feet. A Vacuum Wave followed, with only Plague dodging.

She cast poison in its direction with no success, the shadow laughing it away.

Fox could get an attack off, a Bufula that barely damaged it because it far out leveled him. Baal countered and knocked Fox back immediately.

“Fox, fall back. You’re on item duty.” Ares shouted, then summoned Thor, casting Thunder Reign, finally doing good damage. 

Ghost weakly swiped at Baal with her knife, who was so caught off guard that she managed to scramble away without taking damage.

The group went back and forth doing what damage they could to the shadow until they got about halfway there.

“Ghost, why the fuck won’t you summon your Persona?” Royal finally had had enough after watching Ghost swipe that weak-ass knife attack again. Ares was glad somebody spoke up.

“I can’t-” She stopped speaking to jump out of the way of a gust of wind headed her way. “Ares!”

Another gust of wind left Baal and nearly nailed Ares, but she skillfully dodged, casting more lightning.

The group was running low on magic, save for Ghost. She noticed the glances she was getting, but she looked apprehensive.

Ghost let out a sigh, then summoned. Ares realized why she wasn’t using her Persona. 

_ "I want you to do just one more thing for me… Would you die for me please...?" _

Ares had forgotten about that particular traumatic experience.

A troupe of singing teddy bears marched their way towards Tsunoda’s shadow, exploding one by one, finishing the fight. 

The group let out a collective sigh of relief. 

“Why weren’t you summoning?” Ares had to hold Royal back from slapping Ghost across the face.

“I-” She was still catching her breath. “I’m not supposed to summon Alice with Ares around.”

Royal’s expression changed. “Oh. Right.” She looked at Ares. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Ares meant it. It maybe made her a little anxious, but nothing that couldn’t be handled with a nap when she got home. “Let’s get back.”

They exited Tsunoda’s room and started heading back towards the entrance.

Ares let out a breath. That was the most challenging fight they’d faced, but now they could go back. Some good had to come of her facing her fears.

They reached the exit to the Path of Sheriruth.

“Leaving without saying goodbye?”  _ Something _ whizzed past Ares’ ear. The last thing she remembered before waking up in Mitsuru’s office was hearing Alice’s song again.

===

“Honestly, it should make you feel better that we  _ all _ suck at this.” Ren tried to reassure Mitsuru and Sae, who was optimistic that finding out the keywords for Kaida’s palace would be simple. Parts of it were. They had his name, and they had the place. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Station was simple. Futaba guessed that right off the bat. 

“Does anyone know of any cliches he like? Shido talked about steering the country and righting the ship, and his distortion was a giant cruise ship.” Ren was throwing shit at the wall, although this didn’t seem like a bad plan. 

Sae shook her head. “I’ll be honest. I spent most of my time avoiding Kaida. Especially those last few months, I kind of just sat around doing as little work as possible in hopes of getting fired.” Then she looked at Mitsuru and stammered. “I mean, no way would I ever do that at work-”

“It was extenuating circumstances,” Mitsuru said with a chuckle. “You were under intense pressure, especially since you were being pushed to convict a group your sister is part of wrongfully.”

Futaba spoke nonchalantly. “You could probably get good money for your used underwear online.”

Everyone glared at Futaba. The birds flying by the office window glared at Futaba. 

“What? She probably shit herself when she realized she admitted to slacking in front of her boss.” Futaba shrugged. “Weirdos pay out the ass for that shit online.”

“I-” Ren looked around the room. “I feel at least partially responsible for her. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” Futaba said. “Look at Yuuki. His face is redder than Ann’s catsuit. He’s probably the one buying it.”

“Is she always like this?” Sae looked at Ren. 

“She sold Ann and Shiho nudes of me I didn’t know existed,” Ren shrugged. “For fucking 800 yen. I’m worth more than 800 yen naked, right?”

“Shiho got the steal of the century, in my opinion,” Futaba said. 

Sae made a frustrated noise eerily similar to the kind Makoto makes when she’s been dealing with Futaba for too long. “I feel like we’re going to find out that Futaba is secretly running a whorehouse.”

“Location confirmed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whole lotta shit I've been sitting on and avoiding writing for months in this chapter. Rare Wednesday post because I'm pretty far ahead in what I have written, plus posting something new provides a nice distraction from the crushing weight of existence that I feel sitting at my stupid desk all day. (My job is fine, I'm just dramatic.)
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading! Let me know what you think.


	56. Stop Sign

_ Tuesday, July 5, Afternoon _

Hifumi frowned. Yusuke and Yuuki both canceled on her at the last second without telling her where they were going, an unforeseen circumstance she hadn’t accounted for. She’d gotten far too used to the idea of not sitting alone in a church to let something like being stood up go. Now she found herself in Roppongi because that’s apparently where her friends went when she wasn’t around.

Roppongi wasn’t an unusual place to hang out. Hifumi had been there many times before, both with her mother and for shogi tournaments, but it was strange that the specific part of Roppongi they were hanging out in was the boring part. Why did they disappear into this random, unmarked office building? 

A small part of Hifumi’s brain felt bad for following them, but another part, a much more interesting part, felt like she’d stumbled upon something astounding when she saw Yusuke leave the building with a  _ lot _ of women. Hifumi only recognized one: The pink-haired girl that accompanied Kana on occasion. That made them easier to follow.

They boarded the train to Shibuya together, which was odd for a group that large. One of them really should have had a vehicle or something. Hifumi hopped into the train car after them, hoping they didn’t see her. She trusted her ability to sneak around Yusuke’s suspicions, but she’d quickly learned that Kat was more perceptive than she looked. 

Hifumi had to barge her way through other passengers, apologizing as she went. She didn’t want to lose her prey- erm, her friend. She caught up to them as they turned into a remote corner of the station and stopped short, hugging the wall to peer around the corner.

Yusuke was there, and Kat. And then Kat looked in her direction and Hifume hid again.

They were gone the next time she tried to look. 

‘I’m standing at the only exit,’ Hifumi thought. ‘There’s nowhere for them to go.’ Her heart picked up and she started to panic. She looked again. Still nothing. 

“Excuse me, miss,” a shaggy-haired man in an ill-fitting suit broke her from her momentary terror. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Hifumi huffed. “Sorry. I’m sure I look like a freak standing here.”

“Not as freaky as all those kids that just disappeared,” he chuckled. “I wonder what that was all about.”

===

_ Evening _

“Hey, Hound,” Joker looked around the room. Mitsuru’s office was void of any furnishings now that they were in the metaverse. They were close enough to Kaida’s palace that Mitsuru’s office was included in the cognition, but he must not have had any idea what was inside the building. “You ever just think about calling a maid service and-”

Hound glared back at him. “That’s disgusting.”

“Huh,” Joker scratched at his mask. “I swore you tried to get me to order a maid once.”

Futaba fell into a fit of uncontrollable giggles. “Hound has a maid fetish.”

“I don’t!” Hound protested. “I’ve never once-!” Hound’s speech stopped when he looked out the window at the tower down the block. Mitsuru’s building, in the normal world, at least, was the tallest in the neighborhood. Now, a skyward, twisting structure that looked like it had no business standing on its own jutted upwards, covered in neon-lights that let everyone know exactly what it was.

“It’s a fucking love hotel,” Sae looked at it, slackjawed.

“Whoa,” Joker stood up and moved closer to the window to get a better look. “Hound gets to go to his first love hotel.”

“Will you stop!?” 

Joker wasn’t sure who said it first, but it was somebody much scarier than Hound. “I’ll behave.”

“Should we get a closer look?” Fuuka broke the awkward silence.

Mitsuru shook her head. “I don’t want to get any closer without a full team. We can go in tomorrow-”

“Ah, no, we can’t,” Joker said. “Sumire and Kasumi have practice, Kat picks up on Wednesdays-”

“Picks up?” Sae raised an eyebrow. 

“The less you know, the better,” Joker shrugged. “Ann has a shoot, Rio has at least three hours of depression napping scheduled every Wednesday they don’t have volleyball practice, and Tae has a full schedule of appointments.”

“How do you keep track of all that?’ Mitsuru’s eyes practically bugged out of her head.

“That was only about half of it. Wednesday is the busiest day for everybody, so I just stopped trying to plan things that day.” Joker looked at Oracle. “You could run a scan on the area.”

She acknowledged his request and summoned Prometheus. Fuuka did the same, calling for Juno. They both had sour looks on their faces.

“This place is gross, even for me,” Oracle said with a frown. “Fuck.”

“What are you seeing?” Mitsuru asked.

“It’s- uh.” Fuuka stammered. “It’s a bit horrifying.”

“Hey, Sae, remember that conspiracy rabbit hole you went down while researching Tsunoda?”

“Why do you know about that?”

“That’s not important,” Oracle shrugged. “Anyway, there’s a literal conveyor- oh. We’re not getting down there as we are right now.”

Fuuka nodded. “Agreed.”

“Why?”

“Dunno about you guys, but I’d rather not get Hound and Sae killed.”

“Are you calling us weak?” Sae sounded offended. Hound looked relieved.

Oracle replied, nonplussed. “Yes. I can literally see the numbers in front of me.”

“Try and be less rude about it next time, Oracle.” Joker sighed. “We’ll get you there, Sae. You have my word.”

“Rome wasn’t built in a day, I guess,” she shrugged.

“I thought it was ‘Rome wasn’t burnt in a day,’” Oracle tried to correct her.

Ren chuckled. “No, that’s just Tae being edgy.”

They returned to the real world, Ren feeling some form of surprise. 

“You guys notice that the sky wasn’t dark and gloomy?” 

“Yeah,” Futaba said. “That’s concerning.”

Sae raised an eyebrow. “So, does this mean Kaida doesn’t view the world as a dark place?”

“I don’t know what it means,” Ren shrugged, taking a seat back on the couch. “We’ll figure it out later. I’m taking a nap before everyone gets back.”

Ren didn’t get much of a nap as Minato’s team marched through the door. Minako’s team soon followed, and they debriefed everyone on what they knew. Infiltration on Kaida’s palace would start Thursday.

===

“Makoto, could you stay really quick?” Makoto tensed up at being addressed directly by Mitsuru. 

“Sorry for sounding so familiar,” Kirijo said. “If I’d addressed you as Niijima, it would have been confusing.”

‘Right,’ Makoto thought. ‘Sae’s here now.’ “That’s fine, Kirijo-san. What can I help you with?”

Kirijo hesitated before speaking. “I know you’re busy, but I was wondering if you’d be able to show me around the school after class one of these days.”

“Of course,” Makoto said. “That shouldn’t take much time at all.”

“Thank you.” Mitsuru sighed. “I received a tour when I purchased the school, but I would prefer to see it through the eyes of a student. From what I understand, it’s not the same place today as it was, say, five months ago.”

“It’s nowhere near the same school,” Makoto confirmed. So much had changed; it was impossible to chronicle all of it. “Depending on who walked you around, you might’ve gotten the sympathetic Kamoshida sob story.”

“Yeah,” Kirijo rolled her eyes. “I got to hear all about it.” 

Makoto would have dismissed herself, but she felt the need to pry a little. “How’s Sae adjusting to the new job?”

“Incredibly, as anticipated.” Kirijo smiled. “Your sister is extremely proud of you.”

Sae had turned over a new leaf recently, Makoto understood. ‘Is she really telling people at work about me?’ “She’s told me.”

“It’s a bit strange, isn’t it?”

Makoto nodded. “It’s a good change, I guess. I mean, I became a completely different person after getting my Persona. It makes sense that she went through a similar change.”

“I wish I had more insight into that,” Kirijo said. “Do you have time right now?” She motioned for Makoto to sit. 

She didn’t have time, but she also didn’t feel comfortable telling Kirijo no. Plus, she hadn’t taken the time to properly process everything that happened in the last few months anyway. Maybe talking it through could help put things in perspective. 

“We didn’t go through changes like that when we got our Personas,” Kirijo said. “Although, I suppose any changes could have been chalked up to typical changes that come during the teenage years.”

“That could be the case here, honestly,” Makoto agreed. “Although, I don’t think puberty would have caused every career aspiration and moral perception I hold to change that quickly.”

Kirijo laughed. “That’s very self-aware.”

“Oh, I suppose,” Makoto said. “Ren spent a couple weeks making fun of me for it after my awakening.”

“And he lived to tell the tale?” 

Makoto chuckled. “If I killed him, the timeline would just start over.”

“Does that make it a victimless crime?” Mitsuru raised an eyebrow.

“No, it-” Makoto stammered, then thought for a second. “Does it? I could ask Goro. He likes to get lost in his own head, hand-wringing over the ethical implications of our actions.”

“Well, it’s good you have a team member that worries about that sort of thing.” 

Makoto rolled her eyes. “No, it’s not. He worries himself sick. You ever try to have, erm,” Makoto paused. “He’s really good at killing the mood. I’ll leave it at that.”

Mitsuru shifted the conversation back on topic. “How did things change after you had your awakening?”

Makoto was thankful for the topic change. She hadn’t had anyone to rant about Goro’s inability to turn  _ it _ off, and Mitsuru Kirijo was probably the worst person to confide in. 

“It’s so hard to explain to anyone who hasn’t been through it. The most cliche thing everyone says is it feels like becoming yourself for the first time, but I think if I had to put a real description, it’s like a glass ceiling breaking.” Makoto poked above her head or pointed at the sky. She wasn’t quite sure what she meant by the gesture, but Mitsuru seemed to understand. “It kind of feels like I can see over the head of everyone else. Maybe I’m just less trusting, but it feels easier to see through to people’s intentions.”

“I wouldn’t say you guys are less trusting,” Mitsuru said. “More insular would be a better way to describe it. As a group, the Phantom Thieves are very welcoming towards people that are similar to them.”

“I think that’s a coincidence. Wakaba already knew all of you, and we trust her,” Makoto said. “It was only proper to extend that courtesy to her friends. Ren only trusted Narukami because he’s obsessed with Risette.”

“That’s-” Mitsuru paused. “As good of a reason as any, I guess.”

“Yeah. I don’t think Sumire will ever truly forgive Rise for the audacity she had in looking slightly similar.” 

Mitsuru must have found that funny because she laughed harder than Makoto thought she was capable. “Is that why she hates me?’

“So, you have noticed,” Makoto said. She took a second to think her answer through. “I don’t really understand what her problem is with you. I think she took offense to you trying to take charge because she’s a bit of a true believer. God help Ren if he ever has to break up with her.”

“She acts like his attack dog,” Mitsuru shrugged.

“Oddly enough, she’s only that way when you’re around. Kasumi is usually the confrontational one,” Makoto couldn’t help but smile. “She was a bit timid when she first started coming around. I’m sorry it’s at your expense, but it is nice to see her come alive.”

Mitsuru made an exasperated face. “Well, at least I was helpful in that way. Maybe I should try and talk to her to try and clear the air.”

“Good luck with that,” Makoto said, before standing up and leaving.

===

“Adachi,” he grumbled. “It’s Adachi. Not Akechi, not Ataki, not Adirondack.”

Hifumi had the name right the first time, but this Tohru Adachi fellow was fun to mess with. He didn’t seem like he was used to the tables being turned on him.

“Sorry, Hibachi,” Hifumi said, holding back a giggle. “I’ll get it right one of these days.”

“See, I know you’re messing with me,” Adachi’s voice grew cold, although Hifumi didn’t really care. Then the humor returned to his eyes. “But it’s kind of funny, so I’m going to let this slide.”

“Oh, please.” Hifumi rolled her eyes. “I’m not scared of you. I know jiu-jitsu.”

“You weigh like, 90 pounds,” Adachi gave her an awkward glance.

“I said I know jiu-jitsu,” Hifumi shrugged. “I didn’t say I know how to do jiu-jitsu. I just memorized all the stances.”

Hifumi had let Adachi escort her away from the station because she wanted to know more about the disappearing kids, but he claimed he didn’t know anything. He ended up being interesting enough to hang around for a while, though, because he seemed to get bored just as quickly as Hifumi did. They ended up at an arcade at Hifumi’s insistence. Adachi lost at Street Fighter 2 several times.

Then the world swirled black and red, the sky turned a deep red, and Hifumi’s head felt like it was made of cement.

Adachi took a deep breath of the stale air. “This is just a bit more fun for me.”

===

Sumire had no intention of letting Ren be alone that night. He’d been putting on a face when the Phantom Thieves were around, and she saw right through it. ‘I’m going to have to have this conversation eventually.’ Ren sighed. She invited herself to stay over despite it being a school night, under the guise she wanted his help preparing for finals. He knew that was a lie. He only relented because there might be an opportunity for  _ other _ activities if the night went well.

Ren made coffee downstairs while Sumire changed out of her school clothes upstairs. Sojiro closed early that night, leaving Ren a note that he’d be out with Reiko. It was funny how active Sojiro’s social life was when he didn’t have to care for Futaba. 

Sumire came bounding down the stairs, skipping a step here and there, and nearly collided with Ren when she hit the bottom. He caught her, luckily able to set the cup of coffee he’d been holding on the counter before she could knock it out of his hands.

“That was almost a reenactment of the first time we met,” Ren said with a laugh. 

She responded by kissing him on the nose. It wasn’t often she succeeded in making him blush first. ‘I really am off my game.’ “This collision has a happier ending.” 

“That’s a bit forward for you,” Ren said.

“Is that an issue?” Sumire had an edge to her voice, and Ren got the impression that she was a bit angry with him.

“No,” Ren grinned. “It’s not.”

“Good.” Sumire took a seat on one of the barstools. Typically, they sat in a booth when they were alone in the cafe. Ren thought he could be overanalyzing, though. He knew what she wanted to talk about. “So.”

He didn’t respond. 

“You’re thinking of moving back with your parents.” He couldn’t read Sumire’s expression. It was somewhere between sadness and fury.

“I don’t think I have a choice, Sumire.” The words felt slimy.

“Because you’ve made it this far by just accepting what’s laid out in front of you.” Sumire’s words stung his insides. If she rehearsed them, it didn’t show. 

“Sumire-”

“Ren, it’s okay to be curious.” He couldn’t handle it when she called him by his name. It was so unusual for her. “You haven’t seen them in a century.”

“You understand?”

Sumire shook her head. “I don’t know how you could walk away from this. I understand being curious, but I don’t understand letting that curiosity ruin everything we’ve worked for.”

“Yeah. I get what you mean,” Ren said. He wanted to be angry. She was right, in part. “But I don’t think you get why that curiosity kills me.”

“You’re right. I don’t understand.” She raised an eyebrow. “Explain further, please.”

‘I am never letting her near Mitsuru again.’ Ren didn’t have a plan on how to respond, but he didn’t want to let Sumire make him feel trapped. ‘She’s not doing this out of malice. She’s-’ He felt like a piece of shit when he put words to it. ‘She’s fighting for me.’ “I haven’t heard from my family in a century. You said it yourself. It’s one of the only true loose ends I’ve never been able to find a way to tie up.”

“You’d be leaving the biggest loose end untied if you left now.” 

Her tone just killed Ren. It reminded him of a time when he was a kid. His mother, not his stepmom, wasn’t a nice person. She often spoke to him this way. After, he was left with bruises to explain to his teachers. His father took Ren and his sisters with him with the divorce. She didn’t even try for custody.

A similar tone, however, didn’t mean similar intention. 

“I’m waiting.” Ren realized he’d been staring into space for the last minute. 

“I-” he stammered. “I forget why I’m fighting sometimes. It’s been so long. I  _ feel _ like I’m going to escape. But I’ve felt like I’m about to escape a hundred times.”

“This time is different.” Sumire looked at him with resolve.

“Do you know how many times I’ve thought that?” Ren tried to stop his voice from sounding too furious. “This is the first time my family has ever reached out. I’ve long-since given up hope that I would ever see them again. I finally get a chance to, and I’m supposed to give that up for  _ just another time loop? _ How do I know this won’t end with me getting killed by Yaldabaoth or whatever god I’ve pissed off. Even if I succeed? What then? I still wake up on a fucking train to this stupid fucking city.”

“Do you really think ‘this city’ is that stupid?” Sumire’s resolve broke, and tears welled in her eyes. “Am I a joke to you?”

“Sumire,” Ren sighed. “I do love you.”

“I love you, too.” 

“But-” she immediately interrupted him.

“But you’ve loved everybody. Ann, Makoto, Haru, I’m sure at some point. You’ve probably hooked up with Tae, too. I bet Goro was fun. Are you actually gay, or did you just want to try something new?” Sumire couldn’t hold back her tears. “I’m just another lover in a long list of them.”

“Sumire-”

“If you don’t want me to fight for you, that’s fine,” Sumire said. “I’m  _ fine _ with being another in a long list. Do you know why?”

“I honestly don’t.” Ren was serious. “I have no clue why you haven’t slapped me and walked out of my life forever.”

“I took a leap of faith when I bought in.” Sumire swallowed hard. Ren could see the lump in her throat move. “I’m not letting my knowledge of your past decide what’s true for our future. I believe  _ this _ is special, and I believe we’ll have a future beyond this year. I understand that you’re stuck in this awful, hellish nightmare. But I need you to take the same leap of faith I’ve made.”

Ren didn’t have a response. He opened his mouth several times to try and say  _ something, anything  _ to make things right. 

“You’re right.” He said quietly. “This is why you’re special.” She leaned her head on his shoulder. He tried to ignore the contact, instead opting to count the different types of beans behind the counter while he thought of something else to say. “I’ll take this leap of faith with you.”

Her head moved, and he looked over. Their eyes met. “Does this mean you’ll stay?”

“It means I’ll fight like hell to stay,” Ren said. “And if I can’t, for whatever reason, I’ll find a way to make this work.”

“And if this isn’t the end?” Sumire’s voice sounded hopeful, if not a bit raspy from crying.

“It will be,” Ren said with newfound determination. “This time next year, we’ll be normal students with normal lives, still madly in love, overreacting because I’ll have to go away to college.”

“That sounds silly when you put it that way,” Sumire giggled.

“It is.” He smiled for real for what felt like the first time in forever. “But it’ll happen, and it’ll be easier when we think back on today.”

“I love you, Ren.”

“I love you, too.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >.> Hifumi gonna die
> 
> Like, probably not. Those scenes got added way later because this chapter has been written for a while. Then I realized they fit perfectly in between. 
> 
> It might be a while before chapter 57. It'll still be here on time, I'm sure. But I'm at the point in my outline where it just says "really complicated series of events" instead of anything specific and I have no idea what I meant by that. Like, I'm half wondering if I accidentally took notes for work in the wrong doc. 
> 
> Anyway, this is now a dark fic where Adachi tries to turn Hifumi into Harley Quinn. Not really, but I had that idea after writing it and now it won't go away. Somebody stop me from being big dumb


	57. Low Key

_Wednesday, July 6, Morning_

Yuuki kicked the back of Yusuke’s chair, but Yusuke didn’t turn around. Yuuki had to kick even harder before Yusuke responded.

He cleared his throat and turned around. Class hadn’t started yet. “What do you want?”

“Where’s Hifumi?” Yuuki asked with concern.

“She could be playing Shogi,” Yusuke said. “She’s been absent for tournaments before.”

Yuuki made a face. “It’s normally a big deal when she misses class for a tournament. She never shuts up about it.”

“That’s true,” Yusuke said. “Do you think something happened?”

“I have a terrible feeling.” Yuuki frowned. “I can’t really explain it.”

Yusuke smiled, but his words weren’t comforting. “I think we all have a sense of impending doom regarding tomorrow. Perhaps it’s invading your thoughts.”

Yuuki sighed. “Maybe.” ‘Probably not.’

===

“I’m not scared.”

Hifumi repeated that to herself over and over again as she wandered the higher levels of this strange, eerie, warped version of the Tokyo subway station. It was a dim, foggy hellscape filled with red haze not quite thick enough to fully obscure her vision, but enough to leave her feeling disoriented. Pervasive, tortured mourning traumatized her ears. Despite her repetition of the phrase “I’m not scared,” Hifumi was somewhere between terrified and petrified. She was desperately searching for a bright side, but the only one she could come up with was that her idea to broaden her horizons had a side effect of helping her get in better shape, which enabled her to run away from the giant shadowy blobs that gave chase.

She couldn’t run forever, though. Her heart pounded. Her legs ached. Her eyes had dried out from crying.

Against her better judgment, Hifumi sat. She couldn’t run anymore. She leaned back against the wall and stared eyes ahead. She assumed the shadows would eat her, or kill her, then eat her, or something. Hifumi didn’t actually know what the shadows wanted, but one was fast approaching, a big one. Its glow was red and menacing. ‘At least it’ll be over soon.’

===

_Thursday, July 7, Early Morning_

Rio grumbled. “Who the fuck is calling at 5 a.m.?” All of her friends knew better than to wake her up that early, so whoever made this phone call had a deathwish.

She cleared her throat into the receiver. “Hello?” Rio’s voice was still raspy.

“One of your friends has wandered into Mementos,” a familiar voice said.

Rio rolled her eyes. “Uh, Elizabeth?” 

“This is she,” Elizabeth said in a voice that was far too chipper for this early in the morning.

“It is 5 a.m.,” Rio said. “I have school.”

“Your friend is in danger,” Elizabeth said in an abrupt but grave-sounding voice.

Rio tried to think which friend was stupid enough to go to Mementos on their own, but anybody stupid enough to go alone was probably strong enough to fight their way out. “Which friend?”

“Hifumi Togo.”

“No clue who that is.” Rio hung up the phone. 

“Who was that?” Goro sat up. Rio would never get used to him sleeping in full day-clothes.

“Elizabeth,” Rio shrugged. “Apparently, somebody wandered into Mementos.”

Goro raised an eyebrow. “Any idea who it is?”

“Hifumi Togo? You heard of her?”

“The famous shogi player?” She didn’t expect Goro to have such an excitable reaction.

“Oh.” Rio took a second to run the name through a search engine. “Duh. I thought I’d heard the name somewhere.”

“I think Ren knows her,” Goro said. “Ask him.”

“Who doesn’t he know?” Rio said out loud, not necessarily to anyone in particular. 

**Rio:** anybody here know Hifumi Togo

 **Yuuki:** She’s my friend

 **Yuuki:** she hasn’t been to school in a few days

 **Rio:** oh.

 **Ren:** why?

 **Rio:** Elizabeth just called

 **Rio:** did you know they use phones? Shit was weird

 **Tae:** i’m trying to sleep

 **Rio:** turn off your fuckin phone then

 **Rio:** anyway, she’s trapped in Mementos

 **Ren:** Oh. Shit.

 **Minako:** Eh. She’ll be fine. Bunkichi lasted a month in there.

 **Ren:** what

 **Minako:** He owned the book store in Iwatodai with his wife. He woke up during the dark hour and walked into Tartarus. It was scary

 **Shiho:** why are you all awake

 **Shiho:** why did I join a group of sadists

 **Ann:** not touching that one with a ten-foot pole

 **Shiho:** you’re literally reading over my shoulder

 **Ann:** >.<

===

_After School_

“You can’t be serious,” Yuuki argued back when he found out they were still planning on going through with their normal plan. “Shouldn’t we go to Mementos? What about Hifumi?”

Ren looked at him nervously. “Yeah, about that. I think it would be safer to send the less experienced people after Hifumi.”

“I refuse to sit on the sidelines-”

“Whoa,” Ren backed away, interrupted Sae before she ripped his head off. He’d been addressing the group of them in Mitsuru’s office. “You’re coming with us. Makoto, too. This is too personal to leave you out.”

That calmed Sae down.

“I think it’s convenient this way because there’s already too many of us to sneak through a palace the way we used to.” Ren looked around at the stupidly large team he’d assembled. “Should we split into squads permanently?”

There were a few shrugs around the room, but not outright no’s from anybody. 

“It would make more sense to split up the workload,” Minako spoke up. “Like, I have time just to drop everything and whatever but I just work at a coffee shop. Y’all have jobs and shit.”

Minato smacked his forehead. “You aren’t allowed around Kat anymore.”

“Dude, I have nothing to do with this,” Kat shrugged. 

“Plus, with Rio being a wildcard, that gives us a fourth person that can lead the charge if need be,” Minato said, ignoring Kat’s complaint. “Not to sound cryptic, but nobody gets these powers without a bunch of crazy shit following it.”

Ren nodded. “Letting Rio lead a group might help prepare her for whatever shit storm is about to follow.”

“I like how you guys just talk about me like I’m not in the room.” They turned their attention towards Rio. “In case you haven’t noticed, my life is already in the shitter. How much worse-”

“Rio stop!” Minako shouted. 

“Jesus! What?”

“The jinxes! Every time somebody says something like that before we go into a palace, we get jinxed.”

“You guys are fucking stupid.” Rio sighed then asked in a droll tone. “What’s my team?” 

“I’ll go,” Yuuki said. “If Hifumi’s in trouble, I want to help.”

“I shall accompany you as well,” Yusuke volunteered. Rio thought she might have to ask Belphegor to borrow his toilet if her team ended up just being those two goofballs.

“Hifumi’s my friend, too,” Kana said, making Rio’s plight even worse, potentially. Her distaste for Kana was aimed more at Minato, though, so Rio felt responsible to make an effort towards decency. 

“You guys will need a navigator,” Goro said. “I think I’m more useful there than I am anywhere else, so I can travel to Mementos with you.” Rio nearly leaped with joy. 

“Alright,” Ren said. That was less painful than he expected. “I’ll leave your preparations up to you. The rest of us should be ready to go, but I need to talk to you all about something before we head out.”

He hadn’t prepared some ridiculous speech. He kept it short. “The charges against me have been dropped. My family expects me to return home.”

Everyone in the room besides Mitsuru and Ryuji looked like they already knew. Mitsuru didn’t react and Ryuji reacted in the most Ryuji way possible, albeit quieter. ‘I should send Haru a Christmas card regardless of how all this works out. Can you send Christmas cards through the space-time continuum?’ Ren spent longer than necessary contemplating that.

He shook. “We should get started.”

===

Omen nearly ripped Hound’s ear off within seconds of stepping into Mementos. “Do you want to just shout ‘Hey! Shadows! We’re right here! Come get us!’ while you’re at it?”

Nobody mentioned that her whisper-shout was just as audible as his frantic yell. ‘Great start,’ Omen thought. She wasn’t bullish on the idea of being in charge of this particular group. She was thankful Crow volunteered himself, but she might’ve gone crazy with Hound’s density and Fox’s hippy-dippy nonsense. If worrying about Hound’s shouting wasn’t bad enough, she now had to be concerned about Yusuke pulling out his sketchbook for any particularly interesting part of Mementos. The most annoying part about that is the whole damn place didn’t change. ‘It never looks different! What could he possibly find worth drawing that he hasn’t already seen?’ They made it to Aiyatsbus before she thought she’d had enough. If it weren’t for Crow’s stern looks whenever she got frustrated, she’d have set off on her own and left them to die. 

She had a feeling that she wouldn’t like Hifumi if these are the kinds of people she hung around. ‘If she’s still alive,’ Omen mused. ‘No point in hating the dead.’

They hit the platform at the end of Aiyatsbus after some wandering when Hound broke the silence. Omen had set the tone by hushing Hound when they started. There hadn’t been much conversation since they departed from the Shibuya Station platform. 

“It’s kind of impressive she made it this far without a Persona, right?” Hound’s voice cracked like he had been thinking of saying something for a long time. 

Omen sighed, then hoped he couldn’t hear her. “Maybe,” she said. “I don’t think this is a ‘no news is good news’ situation.”

“Oh.” Hound looked forward. 

“Let’s get moving,” Crow said. “We’ve not been at this long enough to give up.”

“Agreed,” Omen said. “I have a strong feeling she’s still alive.” She assumed Elizabeth would have said something if they weren’t going to make it in time.

The shadows in Chemdah were still running away, which Omen took as a good sign that the party wasn’t as inexperienced as Joker feared. This is about where she remembered them having struggles when she first joined the team. 

“Crow, any sign of her?”

“I’m not nearly as good as Oracle,” Crow said sadly. “I don’t detect anything, but I’d take that with a grain of salt.” He had Abel out behind him. Omen knew Abel was only good for maybe half of a floor when it came to performing scans. 

“Everyone, keep your eyes and ears peeled,” Omen said. “I don’t like flying blind.”

“If I got on Mountain’s shoulders, perhaps we could-” Fox shut up immediately when he felt the butt of a blade poke his back.

“Keep walkin’, buddy,” Mountain said. 

“I thought it was a good idea,” Omen chuckled. They continued their march towards what increasingly worried Omen was the deepest part of Mementos. 

The Path of Kaitul was the first one where they actually had to fight. Luckily, they still were still quite a bit stronger than the shadows that appeared. Omen was proud that she and Mountain could still brute force their way through most of them. Despite being a demon taking a shit, Belphegor turned out to be pretty useful. 

“We have to be getting close,” Omen said. “The monsters are starting to get strong enough to be a challenge.” 

“No kidding,” Hound spoke sadly. “Hifumi wouldn’t have been able to make it this far if she just wandered in.”

A familiar voice echoed through the floor as though it came through an intercom. “Is someone there?”

“Hifumi!” Hound shouted. Yusuke grimaced. 

“I don’t know-” The sound of chains clinking rang as she was cut off. “Help!” Her voice sounded rough, tired. 

“Can’t you hear her?” Another voice, healthier sounding, rang through. “She wants your _heeeelp_ ,” it mocked. “Don’t you want to save your friend?”

“Fuck you, man,” Omen shouted. 

“Oh, if that were my intention, we’d have done it already,” the voice said. “I’m just a bit sad you don’t recognize my voice.”

Omen shrugged and looked around at her team. “I have no clue who this guy is.”

Mountain had a strained, angry expression on her face, but her shoulders slouched like she felt defeated. “I do.” 

“It’s Minato,” Crow said. “Or, well. Not Minato. A shadow.”

“His shadow?” Mountain questioned.

“A shadow. A person with a Persona can’t have a shadow.”

Omen nodded. He was right. “Sweet. I get to punch that stupid fucker in the face now.”

Mountain didn’t laugh. Omen was glad she didn’t. This wouldn’t be fun. They marched up the stairs, and he was there waiting, Hifumi in chains behind him. ‘ _And a mask?’_ Omen almost shouted, but the mask faded in and out like a bad radio signal.

“I should have known better,” the shadow spoke. He was wearing Minato’s blue Gekkoukan uniform instead of his Shujin one. Mountain almost didn’t recognize him. “I thought they’d at least send the A-team after me.”

“Yuuki-” Hifumi got cut off.

“I didn’t ask you to speak.” 

Hound didn’t give anyone a chance to speak, instead casting a nuclear attack at the shadow.

It hit, dealing very little damage from what anyone could tell.

“I was hoping my sister would have the balls to show up here,” Shadow Minato spat. “It makes sense though. It’s not the first time she forgot about me.”

Omen grit her teeth. “She mourned you for 8 fucking years, dude.” She rolled her eyes. “Even in fucking shadow form, you’re an insufferable mope.”

“Watch your mouth!” A Persona Omen recognized appeared behind him, and a door appeared behind her team.

“Scramble!” She shouted, and the team went in every direction as the Door of Hades tried to pull them in. Mountain was the only one who didn’t get away.

She clawed at the ground trying to prevent herself from getting sucked in.

Omen doubled back, caught her hand, and jabbed her sword into the ground, using it to keep both of them alive. “Hang on!”

The door disappeared.

“Smarter than you look,” Minato jeered. “I should have known that wouldn’t work.”

Omen cast something icy in his direction with Belphegor but it reflected back. 

“Do you honestly think you stand a chance?” Minato cackled. “This is pretty great. I should have been on this side of things, maybe. I never did give killing indiscriminately a chance.”

And then he looked behind him. 

“What the fuck?”

“Everybody, run!” Crow shouted. “I’ll hold him off.” 

Hound and Fox had Hifumi by the arms, barely conscious, halfway up the steps. Mountain followed.

“I’m not leaving you, Crow.” Omen said. 

“Ah, yes. Your first time leading and you jump headfirst into a fight you can’t win,” Minato said. “I didn’t want that girl anyway.”

Omen spat. “You wanted us, didn’t you? You fucking got us.”

The shadow’s yellow eyes glowed. “I’ll settle for what I’ve been given.” He looked angry, but his voice was melancholic. “I’ve been doing it for eight years.”

Omen raged forward with her sword with a grunt, missing. He jabbed forward with a sword of his own, catching her on the shoulder. She was thankful her outfit had armor. The jab might’ve killed her. Maybe she wished it had: He didn’t remove the sword, deciding to use it as leverage to slam her into the wall and pin her there while he worked at cutting through the armor.

The forearm on her throat was the worst part. She could handle getting cut to pieces. That normally meant a quick death. The air leaving her lungs made every second torturous. 

“It’s a shame your friend is just standing there,” he tilted his head in Goro’s direction. “He’s probably scared stiff. One move from me, your life ends. He moves and he’s not fast enough? Your life ends.” He had the same strained laugh Minato used with everyone. An evil laugh would have made Omen feel better. “If he does nothing? Your life ends, albeit a bit more slowly.”

“Rio-” Goro’s shout was cut off.

“I even got you dipshits to drop the codename!” He seemed to find everything about this amusing as the light faded from Rio’s eyes and her cheeks turned blue.

Her heart rate slowed and her eyes drooped. Holding her head up took strength.

“Better act soon,” Shadow Minato mocked. “She won’t hold out much longer.” Crow made a move towards him and he twisted the blade. The armor had given way.

Rio passed out.

=== 

_“Do you know what you have to do?”_ A frightening voice rang in Goro’s ears, but his adversary didn’t seem to hear it. Goro went to pull at his mask, finding it had disappeared. _“Abel has served his purpose. He is no more.”_

“I can’t…”

 _“You’re correct. You can’t let her die.”_ The voice replied to words he hadn’t spoken. _“The fates must be desperate to request my assistance, alas you are a fitting vessel for my will.”_

Goro knew nothing of this terrifying, cruel voice invading his consciousness.

_“However, this requires you to accept me, and that which you cannot control, for I, Loki, will aid you in fulfilling this world’s request for rehabilitation.”_

“Please…” Goro felt his voice give, and crack. Minato had heard that. Rio’s face turned purple. “Give me your strength!” Goro shouted with vigor and venom he didn’t know he was capable of. “Loki!” 

A cruel cackle echoed through Kaitul, and for once Minato looked terrified. He removed his sword from the unconscious girl, turning it towards Goro, taking steps towards the newly awakened black-and-blue garbed man. 

“An outfit changes nothing-”

“Laevateinn!” Goro shouted, and Loki lunged at Minato, piercing his blue school uniform, flooding his chest with blood.

Minato burst in purple, his shrieks of terror drowning out all other noise. A puddle of purple liquid surrounded a flask. Rio was still slumped against the wall.

Goro picked up the flask and carried Rio over his shoulder. No shadow dared mess with him on his return to the surface.

===

“Risette, you can’t just leave your shoot.”

“Like hell, I can’t!” She marched off in the direction of the group of kids that just ‘poofed’, popped up out of nowhere near Shibuya Station. She turned around. “I’ll be back in 20 minutes. Okay?”

The director looked stressed out, but Rise knew he was a reasonable person. “I just have something important to take care of. I promise, if it wasn’t important, I wouldn’t be interrupting you.”

The director sighed and agreed. “You get a half-hour.”

“You’re a life-saver.”

She made it to the remote corner of the station normally used for entering Mementos. An idol-skinny, pretty young girl slouched against a wall while a tall blue-haired man, an average looking black haired kid, and a literal giant woman tended to her.

“What happened?”

“Oh, thank god,” Kana huffed. “We need your help.”

“Somebody kidnapped Hifumi and threw her into Mementos,” Yuuki said. “I don’t know-”

“Fuck me running.” Rise covered her mouth after speaking. “I mean, sorry. Let’s get her somewhere quiet. My apartment isn’t that far from here.”

Rise pulled out her phone and dialed Chie. “How fast can you get to Shibuya Crossing?”

“Two minutes-”

“Holy shit.”

Rio and Goro popped into their remote corner. 

“Maybe make it one minute,” Chie said, hanging up.

Goro could barely stand, but he was up and moving, breathing hard while leaning against the wall. Rio was unconscious, breathing slowly with a massive, bloody flesh wound in her right shoulder.

“I-” Goro coughed. “I killed him.”

“Killed who?” Rise looked around. “What did you guys do?”

Yuuki motioned at Hifumi, who seemed to just now be drifting back into consciousness. “The guy that attacked us. He was holding her hostage.”

“Adachi?”

Yuuki shook his head. “No. A shadow. Minato’s.”

“Do we-” Goro coughed again. “Do we know what happens when you kill a shadow?”

Rise grimaced. “It’s not-”

She was interrupted by Chie calling her again. She was parked near a cab stand. The kids piled into her car, and she helped get them into their apartment.

===

Ren had little experience with cheap cologne, so he wasn’t sure his first thought of Kaida’s Palace was accurate. If cheap cologne had a scent that he knew of, though, it would be this. His friends’ faces confirmed that they all agreed with him in some sense. The smell was wholly unpleasant and invading. 

“It smells like shitty kush,” Kat said. “It smells like somebody covered up the smell of their shitty weed with Axe body spray.”

“What’s wrong with Axe?” Ryuji asked.

“Oh, dear,” Mitsuru said. “There’s a lot wrong with Axe, Sakamoto-san.”

“It’s truly shocking that Haru is interested in you at all,” Ren said.

“Haru’s _what?”_ Ryuji shouted. 

“Hush!” Oracle whisper-shouted. “And codenames, damn it! If we’re using them anywhere, it’s here!”

“Right,” Joker said. “We need code names for all three of you.” He pointed at Mitsuru, Sae and Fuuka.

“Fuuka can be Emeril,” Ares said with a chuckle.

“Like my hair?” Fuuka asked, not quite getting the joke.

“Uh,” Ares rolled her eyes. “He’s a famous chef.”

“That’s just mean, uh, Ares,” Fuuka said, trying to remember the code names. “Oh! I can be Globe.”

“I like it,” Oracle said. The rest of the group nodded in agreement. “It’s got an ‘all-seeing-eye’ feel.”

“Before you say, Queen, it’s already taken,” Joker said, laughing at Mitsuru’s frustration.

“You could be Executioner,” Death said. “That’s too fitting.”

“And a mouthful,” Mitsuru said.

“Nope, it fits too well,” Joker said. “You’re stuck with it.”

“Why do the new people get intimidating names?” Violet whined. “I could have been Annihilator or something cool.” 

“Nope,” Joker said. “No more whining, or else your nickname changes to Snuggler.” Her cheeks turned red under her mask and it drew a few chuckles at her embarrassment more than the joke itself. 

“I’m cool with my name,” Royal said.

Plague rolled her eyes. “Yeah, because you’re a royal pain in the ass.”

Joker chuckled. “How long have you been holding on to that one?”

“Three months,” she returned a smile.

“Not to be a buzzkill or anything, but shouldn’t we focus?” Death said. “This place is massive, the bottom floor is crawling with shadows, and we already know they’re all tough from the scans Globe and Oracle did yesterday.”

“He’s right,” Joker said. “Still need another codename for the prosecutor here.”

“I’m not a prosecutor anymore!” Sae said, frustrated. 

“Roulette would be cool,” Joker said, a hand under his chin. “Whenever we had to fight Leviathan before, you’d make us decide how turns worked based on a roulette wheel that was always rigged in your favor.”

Sae paled. “Uh. Sorry.”

Joker shrugged. “If Goro gets a pass for his past behavior, you get one, too. At least you always made an effort to redeem yourself. His ‘redemption’ was basically him not deciding to kill us.” Joker chuckled. “Good job. Great effort, Akechi.”

“Alright, Roulette it is,” Death said. “Now, how the fuck do we get into this building?”

“I only suggest the front door if you’re ready for a big fight,” Globe said. “There are many powerful shadows beyond there.”

“There’s a fire escape on the east,” Oracle said. “Front door works if Alice is in play.”

“Uh,” Ghost shrugged. “I’m not sure I want to rely on Die for Me. If it misses, we’re fucked.”

“It’s a 50/50 chance, and it might not take everybody at once, either,” Ares said. “It’s a little different for Ghost.”

“Do you still have Alice?” Royal asked, secretly hoping she said no. She’d learned enough about jinxes.

Ares shook her head. “She got retired after my last experience. Theodore helped me find a suitable replacement-”

“You are not allowed to summon Mara,” Joker admonished. “It’s funny once.”

“Damn it.” Ares sighed. “He’s actually useful though-”

“Nobody wants to see your dick, sis,” Death joked, earning glares, including a particularly frightening one from Executioner. “Um. I volunteer to run headfirst through the front door. Hopefully, the shadows kill me before Mitsuru can.”

“Can you still summon Messiah?” Ares asked. “Like, if you guys have anything to help us recover, we could just Megido everybody on the first floor.”

“You guys got to _keep_ Messiah?” Joker was supremely jealous. “Lavenza's a jerk and scolds me whenever I try to get Satanael back.”

“Oh.” Death shrugged. “That’s bullshit.”

“Can we get moving?” Oracle prodded them to move forward. “Featherman is on tonight and everyone at fault for making me miss it gets their nudes sent to Miyahara.”

“That’s enough motivation for me,” Joker shrugged. “It’s showtime, I guess.”

“Poor choice of words, Senpai,” Violet said, rolling her eyes.

“Alright, so, operation overpowered Personas is a go?” Oracle asked. 

Death and Ares shared a look and agreed. “Let’s do it.”

The two charged in together. There was a lot of noise, some ghastly wails, and rumbling that shook the base of the building. Then there was silence.

“We’re clear,” Ares shouted. The team entered the building finding both of them looking no worse for wear. “Did you bring any coffee?”

Joker nodded and pulled out a thermos, tossing it to her. She took a long swig and passed it to her brother.

“Uh, how many were there?”

“Dunno,” Ares said. “30? 40?”

“I counted 37,” Death said. “I think we overestimated how much power we’d actually need.”

“Yeah,” Ares shrugged. “Probably could have handled it without blowing everything up.”

Joker looked around the lobby, or what he assumed was the lobby in the real world. He was suddenly thankful all the shadows were dead. “What did the shadows look like?”

“Exactly what you’d expect,” Ares said. “I actually didn’t know Succubuses could be that strong.”

“Succubi, sis,” Death corrected. “I think.”

“Death is right,” Oracle confirmed. “Also, giant scary thing coming our way.”

“Ares, you aren’t allowed to summon Mara!” Joker yelled.

“Not that kind of giant scary!” Oracle’s voice was frantic enough that Joker decided they should take her words seriously.

“I can offer something giant and scary.” A balding, grey-haired man descended a set of steps. Joker couldn’t have given a good description of what the main floor was supposed to look like, but he noticed what might’ve been stripper poles strewn about. Death and Ares did a good job of ripping the place apart. There were only discarded curtains and ripped fabrics left on stages to the left and right of them. The man, who Joker assumed was Kaida, wore a bright purple suit with a bright purple hat, a gold feather topping it off.

“Holy shit! It’s the Godfather!” Royal, her level of excitement matching Oracle’s dread. 

“I’m not-”

“Like, the movie?” Queen inquired.

“No! Like the wrestler!” Royal turned her attention to the gaudily dressed man. “Wait! Were all those slutty shadows the ho train?”

“I don’t know what you’re-”

“Aw.” Royal sighed. “Now I’m mad I missed it.”

Roulette didn’t have as much of a stomach for Royal’s bullshit. “Kaida.”

The man, Kaida, Joker now knew, scoffed. “I knew you’d come crawling back.” 

Roulette looked down at her legs, clad in black. “Looks like I’m standing, to me.”

“It’s a metaphor, babe-”

He didn’t get the last part of his sentence out before Roulette drew her revolver, the bullet landing right between his eyes.

“Do you truly think I’m stupid enough to put myself in danger like that?” His voice rang through the palace. 

“Kind of do, actually,” Joker heard Roulette mumble to herself. Kaida must not have heard it. 

“From what I understand, you come seeking justice,” he said in a boastful tone. “However, that is not for the likes of you. Justice isn’t just a fancy word for what’s right.”

“That’s literally the well-known, academically accepted definition of justice,” Joker sneered.

“Crow would be so proud of you right now,” Queen patted him on the back. 

“That’s not the point! Justice isn’t _for_ you!” The furious voice bellowed. “Lady Justice is a whore, bought and sold by those who can afford it!” Then it cut off.

Joker took a deep breath. “So.”

“That was awful.” Executioner said.

“Yup.” Joker shrugged. “I try to separate business and pleasure, but I think I’m going to enjoy this one.”

Everyone looked around at each other. They all agreed.

The first floor had three separate sets of stairs, a game Joker knew well enough. This meant backtracking and lots of it.

“Three teams of five?” Ares said. “We can each take a separate set of stairs. Globe, what do the upper floors look like?”

“The first was high security. Second and third floors look less so,” Globe clarified. “However, I can’t get a reading much higher than that. We should be safe splitting up until at least the 4th floor. Joker, I don’t know much about these palaces, so forgive me.”

“It’s good, Globe.” Joker said. “There’s bound to be a safe room before then. In a normal palace, at least, there will be rooms where the cognition is weak. Given Kaida has a weak grip on reality in general, I’m going to assume we’ll be okay.”

“Are we really just planning around an assumption?” Executioner sounded annoyed.

“Do you have a better plan?” Joker gave her a hard look.

“No, I don’t, but-”

“Do you want to return to the real world today and come up with a better plan? Is this something you feel can wait?”

Executioner stood down under angry looks from two very scary looking Niijima sisters. 

Violet tugged on the back of Roulette’s shirt and whispered in her ear. “Can you teach me that?”

===

The shadow’s blade barely cut skin deep.

That’s what Chie told Rio when she woke up with an ice pack on the back of her shoulder and a shit ton of gauze on the front of it. Nothing torn, nothing broken, just some bruising near the shoulder blade where she was thrown against the wall and a cut on the front. Rio, feeling extra stupid after waking up, asked if she’d be fine for volleyball practice.

Chie shrugged and said she didn’t know why not.

Rio didn’t have another volleyball practice until summer tournaments started in August. She must’ve been hit harder than she thought. 

Chie tried to demand that she rest as long as possible but wasn’t surprised when she walked into the living room, finding Yuuki sitting next to Hifumi at the dining room table. She had a comically large piece of beef in front of her. Rio gave Chie a quizzical look.

“I don’t know how to cook anything else,” Chie shrugged. “Besides, she’s been gone for two days. She’s hungry and she needs more protein as it is.”

Rio sat next to Goro, who was extremely busy staring off into space from his seat on the couch.

“Thanks, Goro,” Rio said. 

“No problem.” He replied, not taking his eyes off of the… whatever it is he was staring at. It didn’t seem like much was reaching his brain.

“Are you okay?”

He stiffened when she asked. “We can talk about it-” he took a deep breath. “Later. Not now. I’m not entirely comfortable with what transpired and how I saved you.”

“We can talk when you’re ready,” Rio said. Then she reached over and gave him a hug, burying her face against his shoulder. She could feel him relax. “You’re the best big brother ever, no matter what you had to do.”

Rio stood up and walked over to the table, taking a seat next to Yusuke. There wasn’t much conversation going on. She wanted to keep any questioning short because the dining room chair hit her shoulder uncomfortably. She had to lean to her left to keep it from touching.

“Can you tell me what happened?” As soon as Rio spoke, Chie walked over as well.

“I wasn’t about to be the one to ask but… yeah.” Chie sighed. “We kind of need to hear how you ended up in the Metaverse.”

Hifumi looked up. She’d only eaten about a quarter of the food Chie laid out in front of her. “My mother would have a stroke if she saw me eating this much,” she grinned. “But it’s very good. Thank you.” Then she took a drink of her water. “I have a condition that comes with me telling my story.”

Rio quirked an eyebrow. “What’s that?”

“I want to hear yours after,” Hifumi said. “You all went into that world to save me, and I want to know what led you there, and how you knew to save me.”

“No cops?” As soon as Rio spoke, she had one of those embarrassing moments where she realized she was turning into Tae.

“What?” Hifumi looked insulted. “What kind of person do you take me for? You all saved me.”

“It’s not like that,” Rio said. “Look, if you voluntarily put up with Yuuki and Yusuke’s bullshit for more than 10 minutes, you must be a good person with the patience of a saint.”

Yuuki looked insulted, but Yusuke nodded in agreement. “I do tend to be a bit on the awkward side, I will admit.” 

Yuuki grumbled something Rio didn’t hear.

“Anyway,” she said, glaring in Yuuki’s direction. “We believe what we’re doing is right. Not everybody sees it that way. I’m just making sure you’re on our side.”

“I’d like to hear your story, but I believe that I’m on your side,” Hifumi said with a friendly smile and a nod.

“Okay, good. Now that we’re on the same page, I’d like to hear what happened.” Rio placed her elbow on the table and rested her head on her left arm. “I’m a bit tired. If I’m not paying attention, snap your fingers or something. I don’t know if I should even be awake.”

“I had made plans with Yuuki and Yusuke yesterday, but they canceled on me,” Hifumi said, looking in their direction. She wore a sad expression. “Admittedly, I didn’t take them canceling on me very well because in general, I don’t take boredom well.”

“It’s true,” Yuuki said. “She explained, in detail, how to swing a golf club that one time.”

“And I have no physical capability to swing a golf club.”

“You were still better than us,” Kana said. “You actually hit the ball.”

Hifumi giggled. “I’m a fast learner. Anyway, I had nothing better to do, so I followed them to Roppongi.” She explained how confused she was when they entered an unmarked office building, and even more confused when they just up and disappeared once they returned to Shibuya. “I must’ve looked ridiculous, I’m sure. I was basically sneaking from corner to corner trying to find Yuuki.” She paused, then added “and Yusuke” quickly. 

Rio looked around. She must’ve been the only one that picked it up. 

“Then this man approached me.” Hifumi shrugged. “He seemed friendly and a little goofy. I enjoyed talking to him. We went to the arcade and I beat him at Street Fighter a bunch of times. He turned on me after that. The world went all weird, swirly, and black. I ran a lot. Every time one of those weird blob things attacked, I just ran. Then I ran into that weird guy down there. He looked like your boyfriend, Kana,” she said, looking at her friend. “I don’t think it was him though. Unless your boyfriend wears yellow contacts or something.”

“Nope.” Kana sighed. “It wasn’t him. But me and him are going to have a _long_ talk about this.”

“Want me in your corner?” Some energy had returned to Hifumi as she told her story. Maybe the meat did her some good.

“Eh. Maybe.” Kana shrugged.

“I don’t know why that guy didn’t kill me. He-” her breath hitched. “He wasn’t very nice.”

“You seem unharmed, physically at least,” Chie said. “Not a scratch on ya.”

“Yes.” Hifumi nodded. “I think he had a plan to use me to lure you in.”

“Did anything weird happen when you were down there? It looked like you were wearing a mask, but it disappeared.”

“Whenever he tried to hit me or touch me, something I can’t explain stopped him from doing so. It looked like the hero from an old folk tale.”

“A Persona,” Rio said. “But you can’t control it yet.”

“Maybe? I feel like it was trying to talk to me, but I couldn’t understand it.” Hifumi sighed. “Anyway, you showed up shortly after.”

“Do you know the man who threw you in?” Chie hadn’t meant to throw that question out so enthusiastically, Rio could tell. She cringed after asking it.

“Uh,” Hifumi said. “He told me his name. Akechi… no. That’s not right. Hitachi?”

“That’s a brand of vibrators, dear,” Kana said with a chuckle.

Hifumi’s cheeks burned. “Oh. It definitely wasn’t Hitachi, then. Hibachi? No…”

Chie decided to help this along. She thought she knew the answer. “Adachi?”

“Yes! Adachi! That was his name.” Hifumi must’ve moved too quickly in celebration because she held her head. “Sorry. Lightheaded.”

“Thank you, Hifumi,” Rio said. “I’m so glad that you’re safe.”

“Me too!” She chirped. “So, what happened to that shadowy guy? Did you guys kill him?”

“Uh, potentially,” Rio said. “I’m pretty sure he’s as dead as dead can get.”

Meanwhile, Chie stepped away. Rio followed once she could get away.

“Yu, Adachi tried to kidnap somebody again,” she could hear Chie whisper. “I’ll keep her here til you get home. I didn’t know how much Rise told you. She was there, too.”

There was a pause. “Okay. I’ll contact Mitsuru.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew. This fucking chapter. Why is this story so damn intense? Where'd the fluff go? I miss the fluff. 
> 
> Why are both my stories so stressful?
> 
> So, I finally wrapped up a plot line from waaaaay back in the early chapters and I've finally gotten back to shining a light on some characters that haven't seen much action. Getting the balance right for this story is nearly impossible, so apologies if it feels like somebody is getting forgotten. They aren't. There's a plan for everyone, but it's kind of like the plan people tell me god has, where I don't know what it is quite yet but I'll figure it out when I get there. 
> 
> It's weird that the fun starts now. I feel like I should have just made this two fics, but god there's so much I've been building to and planning for months. May-early July are the most boring months to write fanfic for unless you want to write a super Makoto-centric fic. I have one of those already, if not completely by accident. (Plug for Covering the Phantom Thieves. Please read it. I love it so much)
> 
> This fic will now be updated on Wednesday. Why Wednesday? Because updating on Friday meant it was getting lost in the shuffle and not as many people were seeing it. Does that matter? Eh. I appreciate everyone that already reads my story. I also think my story is great, and everyone should read it. Granted, I have an ego, and I notice better traffic when I post on Monday and Wednesday, so that's going to be it. I also do most of my writing on weekends, so if I update on Wednesday, that gives me time to not check the stats on this story a million times per day because I have a problem. 
> 
> That's a lot of notes saying very little. Very fitting for a story I wrote. Thank you for reading!


	58. Empty Threats

_ Thursday, July 7, After School _

Globe volunteered to accompany Minato’s group. She thought it would be best for Mitsuru to accompany Minako since they’d always complemented each other well, and Mitsuru would work better as a navigator than a fighter because she was a bit out of practice compared to the rest of them. The only remaining members of SEES that were truly in fighting shape were Akihiko and Shinji, and that was mostly because every time they were together there was bound to be a fight over something ridiculous.

She might have had Shinji and Akihiko on the brain because this group was just as unruly, if not in a more absurd manner. Globe silently chided herself for being so surprised that a group of girls could be so rambunctious. 

She couldn’t believe Minato was putting up with it. He shrugged when she asked how he dealt with all these kids. “I’m a kid, too.” It was as good an explanation as any. 

At least Panther seemed as put-off by Phoenix and Ghost’s behavior as Globe was.

“Are they always like this?”

“Phoenix is,” Panther shrugged and smiled. “It’s better in a large group. When we split up like this, I think she goes nuts without people to entertain.”

Globe sighed. “Sounds like Junpei.” 

The group splitting left them with a large, seemingly boring office to explore, not all that different from the setup Kirijo had for the Shadow Operatives. Globe noticed many desks, many non-functioning computers, and a set of stairs across the room blocked off with piled up furniture. The room was pretty grey, with buzzing dim fluorescent lighting. 

“Should we-” Globe looked around, checking if any shadows would appear. “Should we start moving the furniture so we can head up?”

“It’s never that easy,” Panther said. “That just means there’s no conventional way up.”

Phoenix sighed. “Start checking desks. Globe, you stay back.”

“Are we really just ransacking-”

Death had already started rummaging through one of the old wooden desks when a shadow popped out of one of the stations. “Great.”

It wasn’t a particularly strong shadow, and it didn’t meet the standard set by those on the first floor.

Panther had stayed back, keeping Globe company since she wasn’t really needed. “Are the shadows on this floor that much weaker than the first floor?”

“We are in a cognition,” Globe said. “It stands to reason that Kaida believes in the strength of their front line, or those on patrol.”

Phoenix raised an eyebrow. “So, the office workers are useless and weak?”

Kat giggled. “Ain’t your dad a bureaucrat?”

“I mean,” Phoenix shrugged. “I love my dad but if the shoe fits....”

Panther gave an exasperated sigh, which Death took as an opportunity to spur them forward. 

“Keep checking desks. We’ll either find something we can use to move forward, or we can heckle a shadow into telling us something.”

The group nodded and forged, well, not ahead. A few feet forward and then a few feet to the side to the next set of desks. The process of getting through this floor was needlessly tedious, and at one point a shadow offered to let them file paperwork instead of fight, which Globe took them up on. The shadow disappeared.

“You look oddly happy,” Death said, giving a rare smile to his old friend.

“If I could just do paperwork to get shadows to go away, I would be as bullish about fighting as Akihiko.” Globe giggled. 

“I’ll put in a request with Igor,” he laughed. They’d cleared out most of the desks by then, finding a note that warned them of a secret stairwell through a closet that they probably should have found without having to go through every desk. “He really doesn’t think much of the office workers, does he?”

“Dude, I’m just surprised there’s something I agree with this dude on,” Ghost said. “Thousands of years of evolution and tech advancement, and I’m supposed to be okay sitting at a desk? Yeah, fuck that.” 

Death wheezed at her diatribe. “Your life long ambition is to grow weed for a living.”

“Buzz off!” He must’ve pressed a button. “Farming is hard work.”

Phoenix scoffed, then said in a mocking voice. “It ain’t much, but it’s modest work.”

Globe and Panther shared a miserable look. They advanced to the next floor. 

===

Hifumi startled in her seat when Rise walked through the door. “I thought I hit my head and hallucinated meeting Risette.” She looked around the room at the lack of people freaking out. “I take it this is all normal?”

“Oh,” Rio said. “We all got over being starstruck the second she opened her-”

Rise had her hands on her hips, and Rio had no idea how somebody so small could look so intimidating. It stopped her in her tracks. 

‘I should ask for tips.’ “We’ve met before.” Rio cringed. She assumed Rise was an easy target. This was not true at all. 

Rise gleamed like Rio hadn’t insulted her at all. ‘Is this how Ren feels around Haru?’ Rio couldn’t help but feel some sort of dread. 

Yu entered the room before Rio could fully process what just happened. He greeted Rise with a kiss on the cheek and immediately took a seat at the table, pulling out his phone.

“You should introduce yourself first,” Rise raised an eyebrow at him. Then she rolled her eyes and did the introduction for him. “This is Yu, my boyfriend. He has a one-track mind.”

“Sorry,” Yu said. “I’m trying to get my uncle on the phone and he’s not picking up. It’s nice to meet you-” He paused as if waiting for Hifumi to say her name.

“Hifumi Togo,” she spoke in an even, professional tone. “We’ve actually met before.”

“Right!” Yu said. “You’re the shogi player. We have met. What a coincidence.”

“I highly doubt this is a coincidence,” Hifumi said . “This all seems highly likely.”

Rio chuckled. “You catch on quick.” This drew looks from Ann and Shiho. “What? First, my dad beats the shit outta me and now I’m fighting demons with a Greek harpist and a demon taking a dump. Don’t you see the connection?”

“Wait,” Yu said. “You have two Personas?”

“Uh,” Rio cringed and shrugged. “Nobody told you?”

“Nobody tells me anything,” Yu grumbles. “What kind of journalist am I?”

“That would involve you doing something besides playing FIFA after work, babe,” Rise chided. 

Yu looked away from his girlfriend, then looked at Hifumi. “Anyway, what can you tell me about the guy that kidnapped you. Adachi?”

“Yes,” Hifumi nodded. “Shaggy black hair, a little shorter than you. He was kind of funny.”

“Yep. That’s him,” Yu shrugged. “Or Ren. I’ll call my uncle. He’ll take care of it.”

“What’ll your uncle do?” Rio raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t realize anyone that much older had a Persona.” She then realized she had no idea how old his uncle was. Tae was in her mid-20s, as was Minako. His uncle could have been their age.

Yu chuckled. “He doesn’t. He and Adachi go way back. He’s the only person Adachi fears.”

“Good to know,” Rio said.

He dialed his uncle again, getting no answer, and Rio felt something was off. She didn’t know Yu well, just well enough to know he wasn’t easily frustrated. He stood up and started to head for the door when Rise grabbed his hand.

“Where you headed?” Rise’s tone wasn’t accusatory but Yu jumped like it was. 

“To talk to Adachi,” Yu huffed.

Rise tried to pull him back towards the table. “Do you have a plan?”

Yu shrugged.

“I’ll go with him,” Chie said. She hadn’t spoken up in a bit. “I think the two of us can deal with him.”

Rio admittedly didn’t know much about Adachi, but there’d been a distinct tone change with all three of the older Persona users the second he was brought up. Yu and Chie left immediately after, leaving the kids alone with Rise.

If there was ever a time to find out what happened, it was now.

“Have you guys dealt with this Adachi guy before?”

Rise nodded. “Yes.” She looked nervous, fiddling with her fingernails knowing she probably shouldn’t start biting them. “He’s extremely dangerous.”

“I didn’t feel that at all,” Hifumi said. “He must be good at hiding it.”

“We chased after that killer for a whole year,” Rise said. “We actually saved most of his victims. Yukiko, me, Kanji and Naoto were all people he planned on killing.”

“Fuck.” Rio didn’t have a good reply.

“How was he doing it?” Hifumi asked, nonplussed. Rio was surprised how coolly she was handling everything.

“He dumped people into the TV.”

Rio wanted to argue and wanted to complain about her lying, but then she thought about how stupid it was that they used a phone app to go to an alternate universe and bit her tongue. 

Rise looked concerned when nobody reacted. “Huh. That usually draws some kind of argument.”

Yuuki shrugged. “We enter the metaverse with an app. At least the TV is something tangible like there’s a portal or something.”

“Frankly, I’m too exhausted to react to much,” Hifumi said. “Um. I’d like to call my mother. I imagine she’s not doing well.” 

===

“This place fucking reeks,” Plague said, holding her nose while the five of them stood in front of the door to enter the next room.

Ares agreed. They stepped forward through the door and found themselves ankle-deep in what Ares hoped and prayed was mud. The squeals and oinks that came through the surrounding walls told her it was mud and a combination of something else. Walking in this muck was far too difficult.

“Executioner, any shadows?”

“None that I can see,” she said, trying to hide the disgust in her voice. They walked down a muck covered hallway. The walls were brown, like the inside of a barn. Other than that, it looked like a police station. “I wish the police could see how Kaida views them.” 

Ares could tell Plague was having a grand time, having to limit her laughter because the smell might kill her. “I didn’t expect to find anything I agreed with this guy on.”

“Nobody dislikes cops more than a lawyer,” Roulette said with a sigh. “They fuck up a lot of cases by not following procedure.”

“I’m shocked,” Plague deadpanned. “Absolutely gobsmacked.” 

“And smeckledorfed?” Queen said cautiously. 

Ares giggled. “That’s not even a word and I agree with you!” She exclaimed, then she laughed even harder. She must have been too loud, because a shadow bolted around the corner, right at the group. “Damn it.”

“We’ve been duped,” Queen said sadly. 

The shadow shouted something but transformed almost immediately. It offered very little resistance. 

“Globe wasn’t kidding when she said all of the firepower was on the first floor,” Executioner said. “There’s more coming, but they shouldn’t be a threat.”

“It’s because of Kaida’s cognition,” Queen said. “He views the police as weak, stupid pigs.”

“Hey, you said it, not me,” Plague said. 

Queen rolled her eyes. “We’ve got another one coming.”

They took down a lot of shadows. They mostly came in the forms of mid-sized, darkly-colored swine as they trudged through the sty towards what would hopefully be the stairs. The disgusting slop was worse to handle than any of the shadows were. Ares couldn’t believe nobody complained. She would have, but she didn’t want to be the first.

“We must be coming up to the floor exit,” Executioner said. “I sense a strong shadow near a large door.”

Any response was interrupted when they approached the door, finally locating the shadow she spoke of. It was big and burly, and definitely was Kaida’s cognition of Chief Tsunoda. He must not have confessed yet, Ares thought, or else that cognition would have changed. 

“It’s nice to have my suspicions confirmed,” the shadow spoke. He was covered in pig shit from the neck down like he’d been rolling in it. “To think Kirijo Group would be playing a role in the undermining of our justice system.”

There would have been a monologue, Ares was sure, because Executioner would never take an accusation like that sitting down. It got cut off abruptly when Plague lashed out, her rifle firing a round through the shadow’s shoulder.

“Fuck!” The shadow shouted, then ducked around the corner while it changed into a monster, a purple and gold superhero-looking humanoid with steel wings. “You’ll pay for that!”

Plague fired again, missing, embedding the round in the wall behind him. Tsunoda countered with a fist that knocked Plague back. 

Roulette capitalized on the counter, summoning Leviathan, commanding it to slash forward. Tsunoda’s cognition fell back into the mud but stood back up quickly.

“Calling back up!”

“God damn it!” Ares muttered. More shadows appeared at his side, each garbed in red with silver helmets. They weren’t powerful shadows, from what Executioner could tell, but it still meant more enemies to deal with while Melchizadek was still there. The worst part, to Ares, was she could easily take care of these enemies if it weren’t for that stupid mental block. 

Plague attacked again, dumping poison on the four enemies, getting three of them. Melchizedek blocked it. 

Makoto casted a nuclear blast that did damage, but not enough to kill. 

Ares grunted, frustrated. “Fuck it.” ‘Please work. Please work. Please work.’ “Alice!”

The Persona of a small girl appeared behind her, her grin never more menacing. Ares took a deep breath. “Die for me!”

The haunting tune echoed through the muddy troughs as every last one of their enemies fell at the hands of Alice. Ares sighed.

“Ares! You did it!” Queen tried to pat her on the back.

“Don’t celebrate yet…”

“What’s your problem?” Executioner and Roulette shared a look.

“Every time she uses Alice, she almost dies,” Plague said. “I say we stand here and wait it out.”

Ares became more relieved as the seconds, then minutes passed. “I think I’m safe.”

“Then let’s move forward,” Executioner said. “Great job, everybody.”

Ares was okay. They went upstairs with no further incident.

===

Adachi stiffened when he saw Yu approaching. Yu could hear a grumble of some sort, but the former detective wore a crooked grin as he approached.

“How’d you know I’d be hanging out at Junes?” Yu knew Adachi was guilty from his tone. Adachi was hard to pin down before because he hadn’t let anybody  _ in. _ Yu knew better.

“Cut the crap, Adachi,” he said. 

“Jeez, kid,” Adachi sighed. “It’s like you think I-”

“Why’d you kidnap that girl?”

Adachi rubbed the back of his head and slouched a bit. “Kidnap is such an ugly-”

Yu had him pinned to the wall with a forearm on his throat within seconds, although he had to let go. The foyer of a Junes was the wrong place for this kind of altercation.

“You should be careful,” Adachi said. “Somebody might think you’re a criminal. How about we go somewhere nice and quiet? We can talk this out like men.”

Yu nodded and followed him. They expected this. Chie tailed right behind. 

Adachi led Yu into an alleyway about a block down where he assured Yu that they wouldn’t be bothered. It was best for both of them to have as few bystanders as possible, Adachi explained. 

Yu didn’t have much time for his explanation of why they were hiding, instead demanding why he kidnapped Hifumi.

“I was bored,” Adachi said, shrugging. 

Yu took a deep breath and tried not to lose his temper. “I thought we were past this.”

“Oh, we are,” Adachi chuckled. “Past the point where you can do anything about it, at least.”

Yu glared at him.

“Here’s the thing: I did kidnap that girl. She was annoying. She kept laughing at her own jokes,” he shrugged. “So I showed her funny. And you can’t do a damn thing about it.”

“I’ll never let you-” Yu got interrupted.

“The police won’t want any part of me,” Adachi looked at Yu with dead eyes. “All I have to do is volunteer my time to perform mental shutdowns. That’s way more fun. That’s not a crime they’ll pin on me easily, and it’ll solve my boredom problem.”

He expected a response from Yu and didn’t get one. The air was still for a minute before Yu slipped into a stance he’d learned from his uncle and threw a left-handed punch, knocking Adachi to the floor. Yu thought quickly, pulling out his phone. He looked through his past locations and selected the not-quite-shadow version of Tokyo.

Then he rummaged through Adachi’s pockets, grabbing his phone and crushing it under his heel.

“I guess I really can’t do anything about it, can I?” Yu said to himself sarcastically as he went back to the real world, unnerved by how much he had enjoyed giving Adachi a taste of his own medicine.

Chie was standing where Yu and Adachi exited the world. “What did you do?”

Yu gave a crooked, bashful grin, even though he was still feeling pretty badass about what he just did. He thought looking proud of it would be a red flag. “I gave Adachi a taste of his own medicine.”

Chie grinned. “That’s brilliant.”

===

“Royal! Cover Violet’s eyes!” Futaba warned before they could enter their version of the second floor.

“Ouch!” Violet tripped forward as her sister thrust her hands over her eyes. “Royal just stepped on my cape! Stop it!” She forced her sister’s hands away and took in her surroundings. “Oh, dear.”

“Oh, dear, indeed,” Joker said, smacking Skull on the back of the head. “Get your eyes back in your head, Skull, or else I’ll tell Noir.”

“Who the fuck is Noir?” Skull sounded genuinely confused. 

“Oh.” Joker frowned. “Shit.” He noticed the confused glances from everyone. “Sorry. Uh, it’s future-y stuff. She hasn’t joined our team yet.”

“Jesus,” Skull bitched. “How many women do we end up with?”

“It’s a problem,” Joker groaned. The problem is, so many of his confidants were women, and the ones that were men weren’t well suited for this kind of work. Shinya was a good shot, but Joker didn’t think he could be trusted in a pinch. Plus, he was only 12, far too young. Iwai was far too sketchy despite having positive relationships with many of the Thieves, and Yoshida was morbidly obese. ‘I could ask Sojiro.’ Joker immediately shook that thought away. “We should have a lottery. Winner gets kicked out.”

Royal rolled her eyes, then gestured around the room. Their version of the second floor was a strip club on par with Kamoshida’s palace in it’s creepy aura. All of the cognitions were faceless naked women dancing on stripper poles. There were stages to the left and right, and a path heading down the center. “At least with all these women, we don’t have to worry about anyone getting distracted- Violet! What the fuck? Stop ogling!”

Violet shrugged. “They’re surprisingly athletic! Aren’t you at least interested in how they train to be able to move like that?”

“I’m certainly entertained,” Oracle added. “I wish I had a camera.”

Joker and Skull shared a look. “Maybe we should get moving.”

They marched their way down the line of strippers fighting shadow after shadow. 

“These shadows are a pain in the ass!” Skull shouted, slaughtering another stronger-than-usual Succubus. 

“Joker, have you ever used any of these shadows as Persona?”

“I thought Violet would leave me for using Angel,” he shrugged.

Skull got hit again. “Help!” 

Joker slashed at the attacking Succubus with his knife. They moved forward. 

“I would never leave you for using a Persona!” Violet argued. “It’s not like you invented them.”

“It’s great you’re arguing, but help!” Skull shouted as Royal shoved him out of the way and finished off another shadow. 

“Some of them just dress skimpy, is all,” Joker shrugged before pulling his pistol out, firing into a shadow’s stomach, killing it immediately. “Ishtar, even. I assumed you’d have a problem with that.”

“Why would she have a problem?” Royal said, watching her sister dismantle a particularly slutty looking shadow. “Ishtar’s hot.”

“Ishtar says thank you,” Joker said, using that Persona to cast a healing spell over the party. “Uh, she also says you aren’t so bad yourself, which, Violet, I swear she actually said that.”

“That’s nothin’,” Royal said. “You should hear the shit Aurora says while we’re wandering around.”

“Help!” Skull shouted as one of the shadows jabbed at him. Violet saved him again.

“She’s particularly taken with Skull, I think,” Royal said with a shrug.

“Cendrillon told me if I didn’t lock up Joker first, she’d help me kill whoever did,” Violet said with a particular non-caring aspect to her voice. 

“Oh, so was it her fault you plowed into me?” Joker laughed but Violet gave him a funny look.

“We didn’t do that til-” then the lightbulb went off. “Oh! You mean like, plowed into!”

“You got somethin’ to tell me, sis?”

“A gentlewoman doesn’t kiss and tell,” Violet said with a small smile.

“For the love of Christ, can we please focus?”

“I don’t know, Skull,” Oracle had to suppress a giggle. “You seem to be handling it.” She sighed. “I suppose I can help.” She slid a button on Prometheus and Skull was able to take out several shadows in one blow, finally leading them to a clearing. The conversation had slowed down by then. 

“Yeah, anyway, Skull, Noir has a giant crush on you and you need to ask her out,” Joker grinned at his friend.

“I don’t know who the eff that is!” Skull shouted.

“I don’t know who the eff you are!” A figure shouted back. 

“What?” Joker startled, then looked towards who must’ve been a mobster or- ‘wait.’ “You’re Shido’s cleaner! What’s up, man?”

“Uh, have we met?” He was a well-built man with spiky black hair and tattoos everywhere. He never took off his sunglasses.

“You don’t remember me?”

The cleaner looked so taken aback that he must’ve forgotten to be intimidating. “I can’t say I-”

“After everything my family has done for you!” Joker relished his opportunity to act. “And you can’t even remember me? The oldest son of Ryoichi Ito refuses to take that sitting down!”

“Uh,” the cleaner looked around nervously. “I’m just gonna-” he took off, running downstairs and away from the palace.

The other Thieves all shared glances. 

“Joker, sweety,” Violet approached him from behind with some trepidation. “What was that?” Her voice was quiet and soothing.

“Oh,” Joker shrugged, then grinned at his girlfriend. “I’ve fought that dude a million times. You eventually come up with dirt that hurts more than any attack. Nobody gets in that deep with the Yakuza without some kind of shame.”

“That was terrify-”

“That was incredible!” Violet gleamed with pride, and kissed her boyfriend. 

Royal mocked vomiting while Skull looked away and Oracle searched Prometheus for a sketch pad. 

“You two are disgusting,” Skull said. They went upstairs into a room where the rest of their team waited. The three floors thankfully led to a rest floor, it seemed. Oracle noted that it operated much like a safe room.

Globe spoke up first. “I believe we’re at a good point to depart for the day.”

Joker nodded. “How close are we to the end?”

“We aren’t close,” Globe said. “However, this building seems to function similarly to Tartarus. We run risks staying too long.”

Executioner stepped forward. “We’ve performed cursory scans and there appears to be 34 floors with these safe rooms scattered intermittently. I would like to remain on the safe side.”

“I’m good with coming back tomorrow,” Joker said. “What’s our deadline?”

“July 26,” Roulette said. “That’s dad’s court date. We should be able to get charges dropped before then.”

“And, if we follow the legal route in the real world, we have a strong chance of getting the case thrown out,” Queen added. “Roulette knows where enough of the bodies are buried that bribery won’t help them.”

“It’s weird to have actual, legal standing in one of these instances.” Joker smiled. “Let’s go home. We can plan more once we’re back, then head out for the day.”

===

_ Evening _

“Mom, I promise you, I’m okay,” Hifumi spoke into her phone, frustrated. Rio felt bad for eavesdropping. “I can explain some of it when I get home. I met a man while I was out, and I was being stupid. I thought he was friendly, and that’s it.”

She remained silent, but Rio could hear her breath hitch.

“No, he didn’t touch me. It wasn’t anything like that.”

Her mother must have raised her voice, because Rio could hear it.

“Mom, he’s been taken care of already. There’s no need to-” She let out a frustrated groan. “Mom! Can you please shut up for five seconds? Let me finish, then I will come home and you can continue to never let me out of your sight again.”

Rio knew this argument all too well.

Hifumi sighed, and hung up the phone. She left Souji’s room to find Rio standing at the door.

“How much did you hear?”

“I was coming to check-”

“I asked how much you heard? I couldn’t have been quiet enough for you to not notice,” Hifumi said, attempting to sound reassuring.

“Your mother seemed pretty angry,” Rio said. “I heard you yelling.”

“She’s not angry,” Hifumi assured her. “She’s just scared. I can’t say I blame her. I was being irresponsible.”

“I’m not saying you didn’t make a mistake.” Rio sighed. “But don’t make this a burden. I’ve been in your shoes before, recently, in fact. Your mistake doesn’t justify her behavior towards you.” It was similar to something Goro had told her. 

Hifumi looked like she wanted to speak but she didn’t say anything. 

“Are you safe to return home?”

Hifumi nodded.

“I’m going to give you my number, and Dr. Takemi’s number. If you don’t feel safe for any reason, call one of us.”

“I don’t think it’ll be like that,” Hifumi said. “Mom has been more reasonable lately.”

“That’s good,” Rio said. “But the offer still stands. And by all means, feel free to reach me for normal purposes. I think we could be good friends.”

“Thank you, Rio-chan.”

Rio tried to ignore the voice in her head confirming that she had activated the Moon confidant.

===

“Would you like to talk about it?”

Yu had been silent since his return home. “Sorry, babe,” he sighed. “I do want to talk about it. I just don’t know what to say.”

“Start with telling me what you did,” Rise joined him on the bed. He’d been laying there for a long time, just staring at the ceiling. “And I’ll tell you if you messed up or not.”

His breath hitched as she laid her head on his chest. She liked that she still had that effect on him sometimes.

“I dumped Adachi into the metaverse.”

Rise felt a laugh bubbling up. “You did what!?”

She could feel Yu suppressing a laugh as his chest convulsed. “He threatened everyone. He told me if we turned him in or went after him for going after Hifumi like that, he’d start performing mental shutdowns. I knocked him out, jumped us into Marukyu’s-”

“Maruki’s.” Rise corrected.

“Maruki’s Tokyo, stole his phone, then jumped back out. I crushed his phone when I got back, so he’s stuck there until we go back for him.” He was breathing easier after saying it all out loud.

“I think you did the best you could given the circumstances, Yu,” Rise said, nuzzling her face into his chest. “There wasn’t a better way to handle it.”

“Thank you.” They were asleep within minutes.

===

_ Late Night _

It was far too late for anybody to be calling Kaoru’s phone, but his dad hadn’t yet returned, so he was sitting in their small living room waiting for him to walk through the door. He assumed the call would be the older man checking in, but it was actually Miki. She was never up this late.

“Kaoru?” Her voice sounded sleepy.

“Hi, Miki. Everything okay?”

“Mhm.” She yawned. “‘Member when you asked ‘bout a fire the other day?”

“Uh, that was just me being dumb, Miki,” Kaoru said. It had just been something that happened in a dream.

“I remembered something else.” Miki’s voice rasped as she spoke. “Like, a brother or somethin’.”

“Did you ask your parents?”

“Nuh uh,” Miki said. She sounded much younger when she was tired. “They’d just think I was crazy.”

Kaoru didn’t respond for a bit. They were both content to just listen to each other breathe over the line.

“Kaoru?” She broke the silence 30 seconds later.

“Yes?”

“Do you believe in reincarnation?”

Kaoru hadn’t meant to laugh. “I guess I haven’t given it much thought. Why?”

“I feel like something important happened to me. I feel like it was important, but I’m not allowed to remember it.”

“That’s strange.”

“It is. And my head hurts real bad when I try and think about it too much. Like somebody locked the door or somethin’.”

“Have you remembered much of anything? Like, maybe it’s coming back in parts?” Kaoru grasped for something to make her feel better. Something felt off.

Miki paused before she responded. “You know anybody named Aki?”

“I know a lot of people named that, Miki,” Kaoru said. “It’s one of the most common names out there.”

“Yeah,” Miki sighed. “I guess you’re right. If you meet anyone with silver hair named Aki, let me know. I feel like that’s my answer.”

Kaoru felt exasperated, but he also felt it important not to let it show. “Okay, Miki. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Kaoru,” Miki said, then yawned. “Love you.” Then she hung up, leaving Kaoru terrified that she had no idea what she just said.

===

“Goro, you need to talk about whatever is bothering you,” Tae said. “I have to be up early for work tomorrow and fucking Ren volunteered us to go back to the palace. I can’t have you pacing around the house all night while I’m trying to sleep.”

“Sorry,” Goro said sleepily. “I can’t sleep.” He’d been trying, and he almost succeeded once, but then Loki’s laugh filled his ears. Rio was sound asleep in their room, so he moved to the living room.

“What happened today?”

Tae hadn’t gotten the rundown from Rio when she got in because Rio was already asleep. That day’s Mementos team was exhausted beyond all belief, none more than Goro, who had undergone another awakening.

“I awoke to a new Persona. I saved Rio’s life.” He took a deep breath. “I’m-” He caught himself. “No. I know it was worth it.”

“Why wouldn’t it be worth it?” Tae gave him a glare. “She worships the ground you walk on, and you’ve been the best-”

“I know, Tae.” Goro looked down. “I mean the Persona I awoke to. I would do anything to save Rio, or you, or Makoto. I don’t regret that.”

“Then what’s the problem?”   
“This Persona,” Goro said. “I can feel it wearing on my mental state. It’s like I’m going to go mad.”

“I don’t understand,” Tae said. “Rosario never does anything for me other than shout about dismantling the patriarchy, which is kind of what I’ve been shouting about since I was 4.”

Goro chuckled. That did make him feel a little better. “Abel changed into Loki.”

“Huh,” Tae said. “I’ve seen enough Marvel movies to know that’s probably not a good thing.”

“I don’t think-” Goro rolled his eyes. “At least you kind of get it.” He sighed. “I’m going to try and sleep. Good night, Tae.”

“Love ya, kid,” Tae said. “Goodnight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having far too much fun with this arc. Like, just ridiculous amounts of fun. I'm currently writing Chapter 59, which might not be ready in time. Basically, either chapter 59 is not going to be ready on time, or I'm going to have the next 4 chapters written and there's no in-between. I'm on vacation from work, so it definitely won't be because I don't have time. 
> 
> Let me know what you think!


	59. Sleepless Nights

_Thursday, July 7, Late Evening_

“I can’t believe you just stayed in your room while Rio nearly bled out in your living room.”

Souji wanted to ignore Chie’s scolding. He had finals to study for, and he barely knew any of the people that spent the afternoon freaking out. If anyone had a right to be angry, it was him. 

Chie wasn’t the type to let him get a word in, though, so he didn’t try.

He didn’t want anything to do with whatever absurdist fever dream his adopted family threw themselves headfirst into. Souji let Chie scold herself out, maybe feeling a little bad about ignoring her in favor of his school books. 

“Could you just try and be a little more social?” Chie sighed. 

Souji nodded.

Chie tried to give a reassuring smile, but he could tell it wasn’t something that came naturally to her. He wouldn’t fault her for that. “I understand why you want nothing to do with any of this, but you did make a choice to get involved with somebody who is in the thick of it.” Chie sighed. “She might put on a front that none of this gets to her, but as somebody who’s been there? Kasumi would appreciate you involving yourself even at the lowest level.”

She played the Kasumi card. ‘Damn it,’ Souji thought. He didn’t have a good response that didn’t make him look like a dickhead. “You’re right, Chie.” 

“You’re a good kid,” Chie said. “I know living here isn’t easy for you.”

Souji sighed. “It’s just disappointing for everybody that I want to be _like_ them.”

“That’s not true,” Chie said. “There’s not a single person in your life that’s disappointed in you.” She placed a hand on his shoulder. 

“It’s hard knowing I’m made of the parts of himself Yu didn’t want,” Souji said, slouching in his seat.

Chie nodded in agreement. “You never got to learn the lesson everyone else did.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m definitely going to get this wrong,” Chie said. She wore a nostalgic smile. “I’ll get the meaning right, though. When we all faced our shadow, we weren’t facing the parts we didn’t want. We were facing the parts of us that we were rejecting. The feelings our shadows shared didn’t make them bad people. You’re less social because Yu hates being alone.” 

Souji shifted in his seat uncomfortably before turning his head towards Chie. “What was your shadow like?”

Chie chuckled. “My shadow came from the part of me that was constantly comparing myself to Yukiko. I think it was split between wanting to be her knight in shining armor while also being better than her.”

“You two are just so opposite,” Souji said, a smile returning to his face. “Like, I’d never imagine comparing you to Yukiko.”

“Teenagers are stupid, Souji,” Chie grumbled. “I know you feel unwanted, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. I think you’re feeling the teenage angst more than any of that crazy existential stuff Ren is always going on about. This is normal.”

Chie was the last person Souji expected to come to his rescue when he needed cheering up, but it was nice.

Chie didn’t expect a hug in return, either. He’d been spending too much time around Kasumi and Sumire. Their serial hugging habits must’ve rubbed off on him, he thought.

She left the room, and he decided he should give Kasumi a call.

===

Kasumi and Sumire had been having a lengthy discussion about strippers, their contributions to society, and how angry it made both of them that the poles spun, rather than the strippers spinning. It was much less impressive, they agreed.

She jumped when her phone rang. It was unusual for this time of night. It was especially unusual for her to receive a call from Souji at any time. He preferred texting to speaking over the phone.

“Hey!” Kasumi said into the phone excitedly. “What’s up?”

She could hear the pain in Souji’s voice. She must’ve been too loud. “Jeez,” Souji said. “You don’t need to yell.”

“Sorry, I was just excited that my boyfriend actually _called_ me for once,” Kasumi said. “What’s up, babe?”

She could hear Souji sigh away from his phone. “I guess I just wanted to check in on how today’s adventure went.”

“But you never want to hear about it,” Kasumi said in a partially accusatory tone.

“I know,” Souji said. “I shouldn’t let my insecurities force you to keep an important part of your life hidden.”

Kasumi laughed and laughed. “Man, Rise really did a number on you.” 

“Chie, actually,” Souji said with a small laugh. “She was right, though. I had it in my head that I was just the parts of Yu that he wasn’t proud of.”

“Parts of me?”

“No! Yu- you know what I mean,” Souji grunted. Kasumi responded with laughter. “That joke has never been funny.”

“Sumire laughed,” Kasumi said. Souji could hear Sumire yelling that she didn’t despite being across the room. Their poor parents. “Shut up, Sumire. You totally laughed.” He could hear Kasumi drop the phone and then there was a scuffling noise and a series of thuds, and playful threats.

Souji couldn’t help but chuckle. “I should call more often.”

===

_Friday, Midnight_

**Hifumi:** u up

 **Yuuki:** probably never sleeping again tbh

 **Hifumi:** same

 **Hifumi:** Mom might be making me leave the city

Yuuki typed a million messages and didn’t send any of them.

 **Yuuki:** She can’t do that

 **Hifumi:** yeah tell her that

 **Hifumi:** She’s calling Uncle Misa tomorrow morning. 

**Yuuki:** i thought this kind of thing only happened in TV shows

 **Hifumi:** yea. It’s a spinoff. Shogi Queen in Inaba

 **Yuuki:** I’ve heard of it

 **Hifumi:** weird. The only thing I really find online is a conspiracy theory about a bunch of murders years back. Oh, and the guy that screwed that dead tv host is their mayor

 **Yuuki:** Foggy day murders?

 **Hifumi:** Yeah

 **Yuuki:** you’re not gonna believe this

 **Hifumi:** you could just tell me instead of giving me blue balls

Yuuki really, really wanted to sass Hifumi. He ignored it instead, and didn’t respond. He instead texted Ren.

 **Yuuki:** do the Foggy Day Murders ring a bell?

 **Ren:** Yeah. Uh. Let me text Yu.

===

Ren rolled over when he heard his phone vibrate. Yuuki had asked about the Foggy Day murders, which Ren knew through Yu, but only barely. He knew they happened in Inaba, and that was about it.

 **Ren:** You up?

 **Yu:** I don’t sleep

 **Ren:** Cuz sleep is the cousin of death?

 **Yu:** wtf are you even talking about

 **Ren:** I don’t know why I ever thought you were cool

 **Yu:** well first off, ouch. And second off, i don’t know why either

 **Ren:** What do you know about the Foggy Day Murders

 **Yu:** sorry you’ll have to wait for my memoirs

 **Ren:** ok but really

 **Yu:** How long of a story do you want?

 **Ren:** Is that the case you guys don’t shut up about

 **Yu:** look man you try peaking when you’re 16 it’s not fun

 **Ren:** You’re literally dating a supermodel/idol/international celebrity

 **Yu:** there’s more to life than women

 **Ren:** I’m telling Sojiro.

===

 **Ren:** Yu and his friends were the ones that solved that case

 **Yuuki:** wait seriously?   
**Yuuki:** I just thought they were from Inaba

 **Ren:** I knew it was something like that but honestly they talk way too much

 **Yuuki:** I thought they were all very friendly

 **Ren:** oh they are I’m just used to getting kicked out of places and told to never come back.

Yuuki didn’t want to know anything about Ren’s last text.

 **Hifumi:** I stg if you fell asleep

 **Yuuki:** nope

 **Yuuki:** the people that saved you are all from Inaba

 **Hifumi:** There’s no way

 **Yuuki:** They actually solved those murders

 **Hifumi:** why can nothing normal happen

 **Yuuki:** Welcome to the Phantom Thieves!

 **Hifumi:** Would they let me join?

 **Yuuki:** idk probably. Half the world is involved at this point.

 **Yuuki:** What was your Persona anyway?

===

_Early Morning_

Ren was in the middle of breakfast when his phone rang. The screen read a name he wished would go away.

“Dad.”

It came like a gut punch. He’d been calling more and more often over the last few days, although Ren supposed ‘calling more often’ meant calling a nonzero number of times. This was only the third time he’d called since Sunday. That didn’t necessarily constitute calling somebody overbearing.

“Hello?” Ren said, picking up the phone. His tone must not have been friendly enough because Sojiro gave him a look that told him to be more respectful.

“Hi, son,” his father said in a slightly nervous tone. “I hate to spring this on you but we’re going to be in the city today.”

Today? Ren felt like he was living a nightmare. He _just_ told the Phantom Thieves that he was going to fight like hell to stay. “Today? What for?”

“Uh,” Ren could tell his father wasn’t too keen on making the trip, whatever it was for. “Your Aunt Emi called me in quite the state this morning. Something happened with little Hifu-chan yesterday that’s got her spooked.”

“Hifu-chan?” Ren was asking about the name, but his dad took it as inquiring about her state. 

“No, her mother. I’m sure Hifumi is fine,” his father said, then chuckled. “She was always an unflappable little thing. I can’t imagine that changing. Anyway, we’re going to be in the city to pick her up.”

Ren didn’t see the harm in that but he had a burning question he needed to be answered. “Is the cousin you’re talking about named Hifumi Togo?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Oh.” This was unquestionably the strangest day of Ren’s life. It was barely 7 a.m., and it was already the strangest day in his entire life. ‘Why is Dueling Banjos stuck in my head?’

He pulled out his phone to warn the Thieves.

 **Ren:** I won’t be joining you for Palace infiltration. Yuuki, you’re in charge

 **Yuuki:** What!?

 **Ren:** Just kidding, but if you could take a selfie and send it to me so I can see your face, I’d appreciate it.

 **Shiho:** christ

 **Shiho:** did you just check the group chat so you could murder Yuuki or…

 **Ren:** Oh, nah. My life is a fucking mess and I’m trying to cope. Sorry, Yuuki

 **Yuuki:** meh. You’re good bud

 **Ryuji:** Is everything ok?

 **Ren:** Nope. Not at all

 **Sumire:** are you just going to not tell everyone what happened?

 **Ren:** i will

 **Ren:** just

 **Ren:** coming to grips

 **Ren:** with something extremely awkward

 **Ann:** did you walk in on Sojiro getting head?

 **Minako:** I did that once

 **Ann:** you can’t say that and not spill the details

 **Takemi:** she did, and she won’t

 **Takemi:** i tried

 **Rio:** Every time I think, “wow, I really don’t feel like murdering anyone,” you guys find a way to make me feel like murdering again

 **Goro:** can we not discuss murder rn

 **Rio:** sorry Goro

 **Futaba:** i finally understand how everyone else feels

 **Ann:** I mean, Sojiro Isn't your real dad

 **Futaba:** YOU DONT KNOW THAT

 **Ren:** Futaba, we all know that.

 **Futaba:** can you let a girl dream?

 **Minato:** but seriously who’s in charge because I don’t want to do it but I also don’t want Minako to do it

 **Minako:** rude

 **Rio:** Am I going to regret volunteering

 **Ren:** no takesies backsies

===

_After School_

“So, not only did Ren cancel and _not tell me,_ he, and this is not meant to be a slight on you, Rio, _left a fucking 14-year-old_ _in charge?”_ Mitsuru was livid when Minako broke the news.

“To be fair-” Minato got interrupted by his sister.

 _“To be faaaaair,”_ Minako sang, earning glares from everyone. “Sorry. I, uh, was up all night watching- and nobody cares.” Everyone had stopped glaring by the time she started her explanation.

“Anyway, it was our idea to put Rio in charge,” Minato said with a shrug. “It’s not like we’re all sticking as one group today, anyway. She can use multiple Personas. She’s going to need to be in charge someday anyway.”

“She nearly got three of you killed!” Mitsuru argued.

Goro spoke up. “That could have happened to any one of us. She saved four lives, one a civilian, and tried to sacrifice herself for me, and I wouldn’t let her.” 

Mitsuru sighed. “That’s a fair point.” She picked a good day to bring Aigis along. 

“Aigis was a wildcard at one point,” Minako said. “We could put her in charge-”

“My main directive is to protect, not lead,” Aigis interrupted. 

“That settles that, then,” Futaba said. “I call Aigis’ group.”

===

Roulette suspected their path to be split in three yet again, and she was correct.

“Isn’t it a bit convenient that things split like this?” Ares wondered aloud as they trudged up the stairs to their portion of the next floor. 

“Not really,” Roulette replied. “The justice system is compartmentalized. I’d like to argue there are more than three parts but at the base level, Kaida viewing it as enforcement, bureaucracy and trial makes sense.”

Executioner agreed. “Most of his ilk longs for a simplified justice system that benefits them.”

“They convince citizens that the courts are too complicated, then simplify them to ensure the already powerful can’t be properly punished,” Roulette added.

“Dude, if you’re tryin’ to motivate me, it’s fuckin’ working,” Ghost said, jumping the first shadow as they walked through the door, not giving the rest of the group the time to take in their surroundings. The shadows that popped up weren’t weak, but she made short work of them with Die For Me.

Mountain huffed. “How much magic did you just waste because you got excited?”

“Huh?” Ghost shrugged. “We’ve got plenty of coffee. Why’s that matter?”

“Coffee?” Globe raised her eyebrows. “What’s that got to do with it?”

“Sojiro’s coffee restores magic,” Ares said, still shuddering. She wasn’t quite comfortable with Alice yet.

Mountain noticed. “Uh, hey Ares?”

“Yes?”

“Did anyone tell you Crow killed that shadow yesterday?”

“Wait,” Ares stopped their walk down an empty corridor. There were cameras lining the hallways, and the walls were a steel blue. “Like, the one that looked like my brother?”

“Yup.”

“That-” Ares let out a relieved sigh. “That would have been nice to know.”

“Dude! We should just plow through everyone, then,” Ghost said with a grin. 

Globe sighed, but agreed. “I don’t have any readings that suggest her plan won’t work.”

They wandered a bit more. The hallway had some rooms to the left and right occasionally, but rarely did they hold much more than a shadow or two and some insignificant treasure. 

“Why are we even holding onto peach seeds?” Queen asked incredulously.

Ares replied with a shrug. “Does it bother you that much?”

“I’m just saying that we don’t have the space to grow peaches in the city,” Queen said. “It's a miracle enough that Haru found a way to grow veggies on the roof.”

“She’s got a point,” Ghost said. “I can’t even grow-” Ghost quieted herself once she noticed her surroundings. The stern look from Roulette was scarier than any shadow she’d ever encountered.

The group walked further, slaughtering every shadow they came across. Then they walked up some stairs. Then they slaughtered more shadows. It wasn’t until they came upon the end of a hallway several floors up that anything seemed different.

Ares opened up the door to a large, open room that was most definitely a battlefield of some kind, similar to a colosseum but with no room for spectators. The door on the other side wouldn’t budge.

Ghost sighed. “I know a boss fight when I see one.”

“If there’s supposed to be a boss, where the hell is he?” Executioner gave her a hard look.

“That’s a flag,” Ares said. “Duck!”

Executioner dipped to the floor as a shadow appeared behind her, swinging a blade that just narrowly missed the top of her head.

She was terrified, then furious after Ares decided to quip “wow, I didn’t realize you could drop it like that.”

Executioner was suddenly wishing she’d done a better job choosing friends when she was in high school.

===

Omen had no problem admitting to being a bit squeamish, considering she nearly died at the hands of a shadow the day before. Her surroundings this afternoon didn’t make things better. She hadn’t been around for the day before, but Skull, Royal and Violet filled her and Crow in on what happened. They basically had to fight their way through an evil strip club before Joker tricked what would have been a difficult opponent into running away and never coming back. 

Her curiosity about the strip club triumphed over her fear of the prison cells to her left and right, but the fear was a close second place. There was a close third place, too: Omen lied when they asked if she was good to go. Her shoulder hurt like a motherfucker. It turns out that stab wounds don’t just go away with diaharan after leaving the Metaverse and coming back. It was probably her mistake for leaving the Metaverse without getting healed first, but Crow couldn’t heal her. Loki didn’t have the same skillset as Abel.

Crow’s outfit had changed in a way that unsettled everybody. He was now dressed in black and navy stripes with a very pointy black mask. He seemed normal if he wasn’t attacking, but his voice would break when he summoned Loki. It frightened everyone except Skull, who Omen realized was probably not thinking the implications through all that well. Crow didn’t seem like he was quite in control. He wouldn’t respond to anyone that asked him if he was okay.

Omen knew for a fact that he wasn’t.

“I really can’t believe this is the first time I’m seeing the inside of a prison,” Plague said with a grin. 

“What? Did you expect to end up in a real one?” Omen said, chuckling.

“Uh, actually, yes, I did.” Plague shrugged. “I went to medical school out of spite.”

“How do you succeed out of spite?” Skull said, peering around the corner. He understood pretty quickly that Omen wasn’t feeling up to task and decided to take the lead. Most of the shadows didn’t require Omen’s assistance anyway. 

“Hey, I was pretty good at volleyball despite hating everybody that wanted me to play it,” Omen said. “Makes sense to me.”

Violet giggled. “Royal, we have another one for the ‘Omen is just Plague from an alternate universe’ scrapbook.”

“That’s not even possible,” Omen said, rolling her eyes. 

“Uh,” Royal said. “How do you explain Joker? Like, that’s just as impossible.”

Crow hadn’t spoken for a bit when he interrupted them. “I’d like to interrupt this existential crisis to point out that we’ve reached the end of this floor. I’m not entirely sure what’s ahead, but we should still be on guard.”

“Buzzkill,” Royal grumbled. 

He was proved right on the next floor when the shadows became much stronger, requiring him to take the lead. Loki ended up being far more useful than Abel ever had been, and they cleared the floor with very little trouble despite the spike in difficulty.

The rest of his team was torn between terrified and grateful. 

===

Aigis refused a codename no matter how many times Death tried to convince her to come up with one. She swore to him up and down that she was just Aigis.

It was a nice distraction from the strange indoor city street-like atmosphere they trekked through. 

The road was a tripping hazard during every fight, and shadows jumping from broken windows as they walked made a terrible jumpscare. Death wasn’t sure if Phoenix jumping into Panther’s arms was a legitimate reaction or not, but Aigis asked him if he needed similar protection.

Still, the shadows weren’t much to write home about. 

Death soon realized the shadows weren’t their target. The city streets were lined with cars, some old, some new, some police cars, some cabs, but none of them moved anywhere until they came across a police car with a particularly strong shadow behind the wheel. They wouldn’t have known he was even there had he not chased them down.

“You kids have any idea how fast you’re going?” The shadow had a deep, gravelly voice.

“Uh,” Death stammered. “We’re walking.” The shadow crossed his arms, seemingly undeterred by his explanation. “So, no, I don’t know how fast we’re going.”

“This is a 25-”

“Why do you sound like John Wayne?” Panther interrupted him.

“What?”  
“Like, the cowboy.” She held her chin like she was thinking. “Wasn’t he really racist?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Panther,” Phoenix gave her a confused look. 

“They’re these movies my dad used to like. Mom made him stop watching them.” Panther shrugged. “I remember them having some pretty harmful stereotypes of Japanese people.”

“You kids and your cancel culture,” Oracle said, shaking her head. 

“You’re younger than all of us-”  
The shadow shrieked, unimpressed by the attempted deep dive into the many problematic themes displayed in early cinema. 

“Ah, guys?” Oracle shouted. “We might be in trouble.” 

The shadow turned into a giant dragon-looking bipedal figure covered in steel armor.

“I call hacks! Fusions are no longer allowed in competitive!” Hound complained.

“I’m sure this angry monster cares about competitive Yu-Gi-Oh,” Phoenix said, chuckling.

“Focus!” Oracle shouted. “This guy is seriously bad news!”

Death struck before the monster could: He had ignored the conversation but definitely wished he hadn’t. The monster reflected his strike right back at him. It dealt a severe amount of damage that he had to heal himself from.

“Guys! Seriously!” Oracle shouted again at Hound and Phoenix, who weren’t exactly paying proper attention. Ann shot fire at the monster, which would have worked, except it didn’t. 

“It absorbs fire,” Oracle said in a panicked tone. “And nuclear, from what my readings tell me.”

“What the hell do we attack it with?” Death shouted back.

“No weaknesses, but ice and wind will damage it. Aigis will have to sit this one out,” Oracle said. “He reflects gun damage.”

Fox was prepared to take his turn when he was interrupted.

Death summoned Messiah. “Nope. Fuck all this.”

The monster was gone in a few minutes, but not without a parting shot. A blast of blue engulfed the entire party, leaving them barely standing.

Oracle and Aigis shared a look while they went to work healing everyone they could. It cost almost every item they brought with them.

“Okay,” Death sighed, finally getting to his feet. “What the fuck was that?”

“Fafnir,” Oracle said. “I’ve seen Joker use him before but…”

“Ugh!” A frustrated shout left Panther as Aigis revived her. She was still out of breath. Then she had a panicked look. “Shiho!”

Aigis hadn’t yet gotten to Phoenix, who struggled to breath under the explosion’s rubble. Ann beat her to it. 

“Shiho, wake up,” Panther said, crouching next to her. She was woken up after a healing spell.

“I’d trade a near death experience for waking up like this,” Phoenix said as she came to. She reached up and poked Panther in the chest. “Nice boobs.”

Panther dropped her. “Alright, can we call the monster back? He can keep Shiho.”

“I think we should head back,” Death said, ignoring the two women. “We weren’t prepared for something like that.”

“Agreed,” Oracle said. “And he didn’t show up on any readings until he started chasing after you. A shadow that strong should give off some kind of signature.”

“Maybe Fuuka or Rise could get a better reading,” Hound said. 

“You just want to see Rise in her Metaverse costume,” Phoenix teased.

 _“You_ want to see her in her Metaverse costume, you pervert,” Panther said. “Stop projecting.” She grabbed Phoenix by the ear as Death led them back to the nearest safe room. Today had not gone as planned.

===

Ren stood behind the counter at LeBlanc, partially filling in for the shift Minako missed and partially trying to kill time before his dad arrived. Hifumi sat in a booth awkwardly staring at her phone. Her mother dropped her off with a suitcase full of her belongings, but felt no need to stay and greet her brother. 

Ren just hoped his own mother didn’t show up because he couldn’t remember her name. At least Rise could tell him his father’s name. He had to repeat it to himself a bunch of times to remember. ‘Misashi.’

He anticipated a disaster.

He also had no idea how to talk to Hifumi, who kept looking at him like she had no idea what had him so disturbed. That was probably for the best, Ren thought, because he didn’t have a good way of explaining it. Given everything that changed between timelines, there was a good chance this was new to _this_ timeline. He may have been optimistic, though, because rarely did changes stem back to before he arrived in Tokyo. Ren knew better than to be that hopeful.

Ren attempted, and failed, to come to grips with the fact that him and Hifumi were cousins. However, he did decide that it wasn’t her fault, and by not speaking to her, he was being an asshole.

“Would you like a drink?” He broke the silence. Hifumi startled when he spoke and he began to think things weren’t as awkward as he thought. 

“Oh? Uh, I didn’t bring any money,” Hifumi shrugged. “Mom seemed in a hurry to get rid of me.”

Ren sighed. “I know how that goes.” He left the very important dishes and started working on her coffee. “That’s how I ended up here.”

“How _did_ you end up here?” Hifumi gave him a curious look. “Yuuki told he wasn’t allowed to tell anybody and Kana is the worst liar.”

He shrugged. “At least they tried, I guess.” Ren moved from behind the counter and placed her coffee in front of her. “Do you want the long version or the short version?”

Hifumi raised an eyebrow. “How long is the long version?”

Ren deadpanned. “There’s no chance I finish it before my dad gets here.”

“And the short version?” She asked.

“There’s also no chance I finish it before my dad gets here.” He laughed at his own joke.

Hifumi looked unamused. “You should pick a different adjective for the short version.”

“Why? Short fits fine. It’s technically shorter than the long version.” This wasn’t an argument that Ren found important, but he’d always enjoyed squabbling with Hifumi. Her perspective on everything involved far more analysis than necessary. 

“But that implies it’s not an undertaking to listen to, which it almost certainly is.” She took a drink of her coffee. “It’s bitter. Also delicious.”

Ren ignored her critique. “What gives you that impression?”

“You’re obviously a long-winded person.” How she spoke with a straight face, Ren could never understand.

He furrowed his brow. “I feel like I should be insulted.”

Hifumi shrugged. “Maybe. This is just the longest conversation about semantics I’ve ever had. I imagine the short version of your story would be much shorter if you sat down and wrote a shorter version, then rehearsed it.”

“Do you plan everything out like that?” Ren asked, knowing that yes, she definitely did. 

“Yes,” Hifumi nodded. “I think what happened to me yesterday is a good example of why I plot out every single thing I can.”

Ren rubbed the back of his head. “So, uh, story time? I guess?”

“If you feel comfortable telling me.” Hifumi nodded assuringly, then took a sip of her coffee. 

Ren nodded. “You’ll get the short version, for now.”

She interrupted him before he could start, though. “You mean the still-long short version.”

“You’re kind of irritating.” Ren said, rolling his eyes.

Hifumi’s eyes met his. “What else is family for?”

He paused for a moment. ‘Does she _know?’_ Ren thought to himself. Something in her tone told him she had some idea. “Anyway, here’s the short version…” he said, explaining everything that happened with Shido, jumping over the concept of a time loop knowing Hifumi would have a million questions he didn’t have time to answer. She listened with rapt attention, soaking in every word. “So, now we’re here, with me meeting my family that I haven’t seen in forever and you going home with them.”

“You say ‘meeting,’ like you don’t really know them.” 

“Yeah. There’s some weird time-traveling problems in there.”

“You left out time travel?” Hifumi looked at him, flabbergasted. “Who does that?”

“I do!” Ren grunted back. “You’ll ask a million questions that I don’t have answers to, and I haven’t seen the blue people in a long time.”

“The blue people? There are blue people?”

Ren facepalmed. “Just be happy you aren’t Keiko. She _still_ won’t talk to me after Lavenza blew up my TV.”

“Why and how did somebody named Lavenza _explode your TV?”_ Hifumi’s face grew red. “And why does nobody tell me this stuff?”

“I think she lost to a dragon but I don’t really-” Ren stopped talking when the door opened and Sojiro walked in accompanied by a tall, slender man that would have worked as Ren’s double if he weren’t at least 20 years older. Sojiro wore a friendly smile he didn’t often share with others. Ren could tell his father one him over easily.

His father was accompanied by a scrawny early-teenager Ren remembered as his younger brother. He wasn’t much interested in Ren, though, instead bolting right to Hifumi’s side.

“Hi-chan!” the trim black-haired kid barrelled into the booth, rattling and nearly spilling her coffee.

“Riki-chan,” a startled Hifumi said. “It’s good to see you again.” ‘When was the last time I’d seen Hifumi?’ Ren would have to ask. Given he’d met her hundreds of times now, it was strange she didn’t recognize him even once.

‘Riki,’ as the boy was called, had far more confidence at his age than Ren ever remembered having, although he didn’t have many memories from his time as a young teenager. 

“Hi-chan, do you have a boyfriend yet?” Ren couldn’t help but laugh at his little brother’s grin. He’d shared his own version of the same facial expression with Sumire plenty of times. Ren was sure Riki would be an absolute terror with the girls in school once he grew into his ginormous head.

Hifumi blushed, and Ren used this opportunity to pretend he _didn’t_ forget his family’s names. 

“Riki, give Hifumi a break,” Ren said with a light tone. It was then he noticed a far younger girl peek out from behind their father’s leg. He started to walk out from behind the counter when the little girl bolted from behind her father and collided with Ren’s leg, wrapping herself around it. 

“Miya!” Ren’s father yelled, then sighed. “She missed you.” He left his conversation with Sojiro and walked towards Ren, wrapping him in a tight hug. “I missed you, too.”

“Yeah,” Riki said. “Dad’s been bitching-”

“Language!” Ren’s father said.

“-about being outnumbered.”

Ren’s father chuckled, and Ren felt like he was looking into a mirror. “Your mother and Naomi have been putting the screws to Riki about his study habits.”

“I’m going to play basketball, dad!” His tone reminded Ren of Futaba claiming she didn’t need school because she could play professional League of Legends. “I don’t need school.” He huffed.

‘Ah. Explains why I bonded with Futaba so quickly,’ Ren thought, laughing to himself. 

Miya had been extracted from his leg and was now sitting on his lap at the barstool. Sojiro made a cup of coffee for Ren’s father, who couldn’t believe the difference between that and the instant he made at home.

“Miya, you’re getting so big!” Ren said, and he suddenly felt a bit awkward about lying to a child. “How old are you now? Are you older than Riki yet?”

“It doesn’t work that way-” Riki tried to interrupt but Miya laughed.

“Hear that, Riki? I’m gonna be older than you some day,” she giggled. “I’m gonna be five next week!” She held out her hand to Ren, like she was so proud her age now fit the number of fingers she had. 

“Wow! You’re making me feel old!” Ren laughed, because he was technically older than every person in the room. ‘Actually, that’s dark as hell,’ he thought. ‘Let’s hope Miya is never older than Riki.’

Ren’s father made him leave his thoughts. “Naomi wanted to come, but ya know,” he rubbed the back of his head. “College and stuff.”

Ren nodded. Apparently, he was not an only child.

“We should probably head out,” he looked at Ren. “I wish we could stick around, but our train leaves soon. Good god, is the train system here confusing.”

“Preaching to the choir, dad,” Ren said. “Want me to walk you guys to the station?”

“I’m sure Hifumi can figure it out,” he shrugged. “But I’m sure the kids would like your company as long as possible.”

Ren stood up, and escorted his family, plus Hifumi, to the train station. He felt empty. 

Sojiro tried to talk to him when he returned, but Ren went upstairs instead. He could hear all about his father later.

===

Executioner rolled away from the blade that came inches away from removing her head. 

“That’s my job!” She turned and jabbed her sword at the attacker’s neck, causing it to disintegrate into a larger, far more dangerous shadow.

“That was Ryota-san,” Roulette said. 

“A cognition of him,” Queen replied. “Not the real thing.”

Roulette nodded and fired her guns at the newly spawned Oberon. Queen went next, with Johanna sending a nuclear blast his way that knocked him down. 

He went down quickly, but a replacement appeared. Ryota wasn’t the boss Ghost expected.

“You shouldn’t have come here,” a familiar silver-haired woman scolded in a harsh tone.

“You look way better in leather,” Ares joked, drawing three Niijima glares at once. “Nobody?”

“Eh. It was kinda funny,” Ghost shrugged. “I’m more focused on the fact that there’s a scary fed in front of me.”

“I’m not a fed!” Roulette shouted, firing at the cognition. The attack did nothing.

“Not anymore,” the shadow responded. “You threw that away. For what? A cushy private sector job?”

“Cushy? What part of this looks cushy?” Queen stepped between Roulette and her shadow.

“It’s the easy way out,” the shadow condescended. “She couldn’t win, so she gave up.”

“I didn’t _want_ to win,” Roulette said. 

“Yeah, dude!” Ghost replied, taking a place next to Queen. “She’s doin’ the right thing for once.”

“Is that why she’s here with Kirijo?”

“...yes?” Ghost shot her a confused glance. “I know you’re trying to banter but if you could just…” Alice appeared behind her. “ _Die for me!”_

The move didn’t work.

“Aw, man,” Ghost said.

“I appreciate the effort you put into the presentation,” Executioner said, patting her on the back.

Globe cringed. ‘She’s becoming one of _them,’_ she thought. It _was_ nice to see Mitsuru cut loose, for once.

The shadow didn’t like Ghost’s last attack, and transmogrified into trouble: Atavaka. Globe recognized it immediately.

“Physical and fire won’t work!” Globe warned. “Everything else is fair game!”

Roulette dodged a stray blade from the many-armed shadow, slashing forward and doing minimal damage. Queen followed up with a blast that did a small amount of damage.

“What if I just…” Globe talked to herself, fiddling with Lucia from the inside. “Got it! Everyone should be charged!”

Attack after attack nailed the shadow, ending it’s day.

Ares let out a sigh of relief. “That could have gone terribly. Good job, Globe.”

“Seriously,” Executioner said. “You saved my ass.”

“It’s what I’m here for,” Globe said with a smile. “We should head home for the day. We’re running just low enough on health and items that I don’t feel comfortable going much further. I’m picking up some strong signals from the next floor.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story has more winding plot than any soap opera I've ever seen. 
> 
> Good news! I've gotten pretty far ahead on chapters I have written for this story! I've gotten quite a bit of work in, so we'll be good on updates for the next few weeks. That means unless something needs further explanation, author's notes will be short because I don't trust myself not to spoil my own story.
> 
> Let me know what you think!


	60. Message Not Sent

_ Thursday, July 7, Evening _

Ren struggled to keep himself occupied after his family left LeBlanc. He demanded Sojiro provide him with work until Sumire arrived. He needed something to distract himself from the coming conversation that would surely leave him feeling even more confused. ‘Is that even possible?’ Ren mused. 

It made things more difficult that Sojiro really liked Ren’s dad.

“Honestly, had they just taken the time to talk to me before just shipping you off here, I’d have had no problem taking you in,” Sojiro said. “Hell, you might not’ve been stuck in the attic.”

“Eh,” Ren shrugged. “The attic is charming. It’s tradition, at this point.”

“It’s pretty punk-rock, I guess.” Sojiro sat at the bar, idly fiddling with a pen. He must’ve been thinking about his crossword puzzle. “You take after Misashi quite a bit, kid.”

“That  _ is _ typically how genetics word, Boss,” Ren shrugged. “I had to take after somebody.”

Sojiro held up his newspaper, like reading the words from a closer distance would make his crossword puzzle easier. “It’s just a surprise, is all. I thought I was taking in a delinquent from a broken home.”

Ren withheld a laugh. “Pretty crazy that I’m not a delinquent yet somehow still this much of a pain, isn’t it?”

“No worse than what I’ve already been dealing with,” Sojiro didn’t withhold his laugh. “You’ve kept Wakaba busy, at least.”

“Gives you and the lady friend plenty of free time, doesn’t it?” Ren teased. Rio would probably murder him if she heard him. Sojiro gave him a look that said stop, but he should have known better, Ren thought. “Minako was telling me-”

The bell chimed and Sojiro sighed. ‘Good timing, Sumire.’

She didn’t look to be in her typical chipper mood, but her eyes lit up when she saw Ren, as they always did.

Sojiro stood up and started heading towards the door. “You can close up for the night.” He greeted Sumire and left. 

She took a seat at the bar while Ren cleaned up some of the residuals from Sojiro’s day.

“How did your-”

They both started speaking at the same time. Ren let her go first. 

“How was your family?” Ren was sure Sumire didn’t mean to let the hurt show through her expression, but he could see it. 

Ren sighed. “Faking it felt terrible.”

Sumire looked down at the counter. “It went that well, huh?”

“I wish you could have been there.” He tried to smile reassuringly. “Dad brought Riki and Miya with him.”

She tried to look like the discussion wasn’t eating her insides. “What are they like?”

Ren chuckled. “Riki’s 14. He was too busy hassling Hifumi to talk to me. I think he’s a bit girl-obsessed.”

“Poor Hifumi,” Sumire giggled. 

“Eh, I’m guessing he’ll be kept in check. I have an older sister that still lives at home. Naomi. I don’t know anything about her, though, just that she gives Riki a hard time about not doing his homework.” Ren wondered, though, why an older sister wouldn’t reach out after everything that happened. “Him and dad complained about being outnumbered by women.”

“Who does that sound like, dear?” Sumire grinned at him. “You’re just destined to be surrounded by women.”

“I’m doomed to be surrounded by women my entire life,” Ren said in mock shame. “The misery!”

Sumire rolled her eyes. “You love it.”

“I do,” Ren shrugged. “Specifically, the one sitting in front of me.” 

“You can’t just say it like that!” Sumire blushed furiously.

“You gonna stop me?” 

“No…” Sumire trailed off, still blushing. “You didn’t tell me about Miya.” 

“Oh. Yeah, that’s the one I feel guiltiest over.” Ren sighed. “She’s four. Gonna be five next weekend.”

“That’s the fun age!” Sumire replied excitedly. “What’s she like?”

Ren laughed a little. “The first thing she did was hug my leg till it fell asleep.”

“I missed that?” Sumire said in a faux sadness. “Did anyone take a picture?”

“You had to be there,” Ren said. He assumed Sumire would enjoy being around kids, but he didn’t anticipate her melting at the mention of him having a little sister.

She grinned at him. “Are they throwing her a birthday party?” 

“Uh,” Ren took a second to think. “From what I can recall it would be very unlike my parents to not throw a birthday party.”

“We should ask if we can come,” Sumire gleamed excitedly. 

“You’d be okay meeting them?”

She paused to think. “I would love to meet your family, Senpai.”

“I’m still going to do everything I can to stay,” Ren said.

“I didn’t say you weren’t. I don’t see why you can’t stay and still have a relationship with them.” Ren tried to think if there was a single person who knew that was as supportive as his girlfriend. He couldn’t think of any. “There’s one thing that’s bothering me. If you have an older sister, why didn’t she reach out? I assume she’s like you in some way, right?”

“I had the same thought.” Ren furrowed his brow.

Sumire seemed far too interested in this. Ren assumed she was trying to avoid talking about her day, but he was also curious, so he let it slide. “Did you check your contacts? You probably have her number.”

Ren shrugged and pulled out his phone. He slid through the contacts and found no mention of a Naomi Amamiya anywhere. “I’ve got nothing.”

“Did you check your blocked numbers?”

“Why would I block my own sister?” Ren said, scrolling through to his settings to check.

“I block Kasumi all the time,” Sumire shrugged. “She sends me the most irritating memes.”

He tried not to laugh while he scrolled through. Finding the list of blocked numbers was actually fairly difficult, but he finally found it, plus the number he’d been looking for.

He hit the unblock button and his phone flooded with message after message. The floodgates had opened. He couldn’t help but notice he had her name in his phone as “Naomi,” with an eye-rolling emoji. 

This would be fun.

Sumire laughed at the deluge of texts that flooded his phone. 

“Want to tell me about your day while we wait for my phone to stop buzzing?”

Her smile disappeared. “Yes. I suppose we should talk about that.”

“Did things go that poorly?”

Sumire shrugged. “They actually went quite well for us, compared to the other groups. We didn’t make much progress today.”

“That’s okay,” Ren said. “I wasn’t expecting much.”

“I know, it’s just…” she sighed. “Has Goro talked to you?”

“Not really,” Ren replied. “Not since he tried to convince me to stay.”

Sumire nodded. She started to speak a few times but stopped before any sounds could leave her mouth. She finally gathered the courage to say something. “He has a new Persona.”

Ren chewed the inside of his lip, hoping Sumire didn’t notice. 

“His outfit changed, too.” At least she was there to share in his discomfort.

“Does he have a black mask?” He asked a question he already knew the answer to.

Sumire nodded. “His new Persona is Loki.”

“Okay,” Ren sighed. “I’ll talk to him.”

“It’s really scary, Ren.”

He took a seat next to her at the counter and put an arm around her. “I know. I’ve seen it before.”

She leaned into his arms and looked up at him. “You have?”

“You know how I told you Goro used to be different? Like, not one of us?”

Sumire nodded. 

“That’s what he was.”

“Is this bad?”

“I hope not.” Ren hugged her tighter. “He’s just going through some things right now. He’ll be back to normal soon.” That was probably a lie, Ren thought. It was more for himself than Sumire.

===

“I know I was fighting hurt, but that gives you  _ no _ right to talk to  _ any  _ of us that way.” Rio had been in Goro’s ear the second they returned home. He looked to Tae for some support but she shook her head.

“You made your bed,” she said with a shrug. 

“I’m sorry,” Goro said. “I don’t know-”

“Look, I know your outfit changed, and you have that spiffy new Persona, but that doesn’t mean you get to act like a damned psychopath.” Rio huffed. “We all appreciate you stepping up, but you need to get Loki under control.”

Goro nodded. “I wasn’t acting like me. You’re right.”

“What even happened?”

The latter half of the day’s infiltration, Goro’s demeanor changed. He was more no-nonsense, which was probably necessary, Rio thought, but he was extremely crude. To watch a member of her chosen family act like a murderous sociopath well, other people weren’t supposed to act like that. Especially not the normally mild-mannered Goro. 

“I don’t know,” Goro sighed. “I’m just not used to the extra voice.”

“What do you mean?”

“Loki is much more vocal than Abel ever was,” Goro said, shifting uncomfortably on the couch. “Even right now, he’s yelling at me. I think if I could summon here, he’d be going berserk.” He winced after he spoke as if he was being admonished. “It’s… it doesn’t feel right.”

Tae finally butted in. “I could get you to a specialist. Maybe this is less a Metaverse problem, and more a real-world one?”

Goro shrugged. “If you think it’ll help. It’s pretty unbearable.”

“I’ll schedule a check-up.” She grabbed her phone and sent a text, then looked at Rio. “Isn’t Futaba’s mom a researcher or some kind?”

“She’s pretty much the only real expert on any of this,” Rio said. “Should we ask her?”

“I’d say it’s worth a shot. Worst comes to worst, we have to throw the whole Goro away.” Tae chuckled to herself.

“Can we not joke about that?” Goro asked, then rolled his eyes. “Loki thinks you’re funny.”

She laughed again. “Hey, the Trickster God would know funny. Maybe you should listen to him, just this once.”

===

_ Ren’s missed text messages from Naomi _

_ February _

**Naomi:** I can’t believe they’re just shipping you off like this

**Naomi:** seriously mom cried for months when she thought I was moving out

**Naomi:** are you really just going to go without saying anything?

**Ren:** stop.

**Naomi:** This is bullshit

**Ren:** I know.

**Naomi:** uv done way worse shit than this

**Naomi:** how does saving somebody get you exiled?

**Naomi:** who the fuck exiles somebody?

**Naomi:** is this 17th century France? Like fuck dude

**Ren:** NAOMI

**Naomi:** what

**Ren:** I know

**Naomi:** what if I came with you?

**Ren:** you know that can’t happen

**Naomi:** why not?

**Ren:** Miya and Riki need you there.

**Naomi:** Mom and dad can handle Riki

**Naomi:** ok no they can’t ur right. You gonna be home tonight?

**Ren:** I’m going to bed early. 

**Naomi:** ass

_ March _

**Naomi:** Miya hasn’t stopped crying since you left

_ Message not sent. _

**Naomi:** did you block me or did the feds bc this some fascist shit if they blocked me

_ Message not sent. _

**Naomi:** Im textin u anyway

_ Message not sent. _

**Naomi:** Riki made the basketball team. He’s really excited

**Naomi:** he won’t shut up

**Naomi:** I reminded him he can’t be on the team if he doesn’t get his grades up

**Naomi:** now he’s mad

_ Messages not sent. _

_ April _

**Naomi:** saw u on tv. U look jacked. Finally took my advice n hit the gym

**Naomi:** u probably did it for a girl or something

**Naomi:** head ass 

_ Messages not sent. _

**Naomi:** this makes me sad

**Naomi:** can’t roast your ass with this stupid block

_ Messages not sent. _

**Naomi:** we had a guest speaker in class today, some hot shot lawyer

**Naomi:** Sae Niijima or somethin. Told her about your case.

**Naomi:** she thought it was hit too.

**Naomi:** asked if she knew Sojiro Sakura and she spazzed out almos

**Naomi:** ur dude’s got some gov trouble

_ Messages not sent. _

_ May _

**Naomi:** can u plz take Riki

**Naomi:** he’s such a pain in the ass

**Naomi:** y couldn’t he have gotten sent to tokyo

**Naomi:** Miya asks about u literally every day

**Naomi:** can’t handle this shit

**Naomi:** BRO dnt u go to Shujin?

**Naomi:** that volleyball coach. Shit

_ Messages not sent. _

**Naomi:** wtf is goin on at ur school

**Naomi:** i need the deets

**Naomi:** fuckin govt man. Cant even gossip w/ my lil bro

_ June _

**Naomi:** happy birthday to me

**Naomi:** can finally by booze

**Naomi:** I’d bring u som if ur stupid ass ever replied

**Naomi:** Miya dragged me to some gymnastics comp in Okina

**Naomi:** she’s obsessed with these twins we saw there. Turns out they’re that tv guy’s daughters.

**Naomi:** i wouldn’t let her ask for an autograph. Figured it’d be weird for them

_ Messages not sent. _

**Naomi:** Yukiko told me you have a girlfriend

**Naomi:** im a bit peeved you didn’t say anything

**Naomi:** for the love of god use condoms

_ July _

**Naomi:** can you plz come home

**Naomi:** plz

**Naomi:** b4 I lose a second brother bc im gonna murder riki

_ Messages not sent. _

**Naomi:** BRO

**Naomi:** CHARGES DROPPED

===

_ Late night _

Ren struggled with juggling the humor behind his sister’s texts and the shame he had from blocking her number. He probably wanted to limit interaction because he was specifically told to. The feeling of wanting to prevent his family’s involvement any further was still familiar to him. 

He must’ve been particularly close with his sister, but memories of her were so foggy it left him guilt-ridden. 

‘This is not the time, but…’ he selected the newly unblocked contact in his phone and hit the little phone icon. 

She answered on the first ring.

“I swear to god if this is a prank call I’m going to murder you and everyone you’ve ever loved,” a voice reminiscent of Kawakami’s said over the phone. Maybe a bit raspier. She might’ve been a smoker.

“Uh, Naomi?” Ren tried to keep the laugh out of his voice. “It’s me.”

“Oh, shit.” Her voice broke on the swear. “You actually called.”

“Sorry. It’s been so-”

“You absolute piece of shit!” He had to hold his ear away from the receiver when she shouted. “The charges were dropped days ago and you didn’t even call me!” Her voice held a combination of humor and sadness. 

“I’m sorry-”

“Uh.” She sighed. “You’re good, bro. I’m just happy you’re okay.”

“I haven’t called mom yet-”

“Oh, don’t bother. Dad will hand her the phone, and she’ll nag about how cell phones are a fad,” Naomi laughed. “I swear, she’s waiting for everyone to have a neurochip or something.”

“I actually have a friend here who feels the same way,” Ren said with a chuckle. Minato’s reason at least made sense, kind of. 

“He must be a fuckin’ loser,” she said.

Ren shrugged to himself. “Nah. He’s cool. I think you’d like my friends here.”

“Shit, couldn’t be any worse than the ones you had here.”

“Can I be completely honest? I don’t remember having friends at home.”

“Who needs friends when you have the world’s best big sister?” Her tone reeked strongly of Minako, Ren thought. 

Ren decided to change the subject, avoiding the fact that he barely remembered any of his family. “How’s Hifumi?”

“Bored as shit,” Naomi said. “She’s gonna hate it here once she realizes there’s not much to explore.”

“Ha,” Ren said. “She’s got the internet. She’ll be fine. Tell her I said hi.”

“So, now that you’re allowed to see your family again, what’re ya doin’ on Saturday?” 

“Helping my friends study for exams, probably,” Ren said. It was that time of the semester, and he knew better than to let Ryuji take an exam without his own intervention. 

“Good boy.” Naomi sounded like she was talking to a dog. “I’m coming to visit, though, so cut your studying short.”

‘Like I need to study,’ Ren thought. “Okay. I’m just warning you, though. The, uh-” He sighed. “The events surrounding my arrest are very foggy. I don’t remember much from before it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Can I be completely honest with you?”

“You’ve never been anything but,” She laughed. “Remember that time you discovered masturbating and decided to-”

“Uh, let’s save that story for another time.” Ren blushed. Christ. “I don’t remember any of you. I remembered Miya, kind of. I couldn’t even remember where I was from until I met somebody else from Inaba.”

“Yeah, Yukiko mentioned something like that.” Naomi sighed. “I’m still a bit pissed you had contact with people from Inaba and didn’t even think to send a fucking message.”

“I think something happened while I was in jail,” Ren said, technically not lying. “But nearly everything from before I got to Tokyo disappeared from my mind.”

Naomi was silent for a short time. “I guess I’ll just have to remind you, then.”

“Thank you, Naomi.” He already completely understood why they were close before.

“Did you go on a huge bender when you got to Tokyo? I’ve definitely forgotten important shit after a bad trip.” She hummed thoughtfully. “You got a shrooms guy? Is he good?”

“Uh, I got a weed girl but I don’t-”

“Oh, sick. Wonder if she’s cheaper than what I get out here.”

Ren had to get off the phone, so he ended the conversation before his sister could share more tales of her extracurricular activities. 

===

_ Friday, July 8, Lunchtime _

Somebody grabbed Ren’s shoulder on his way to the rooftop, stopping him in his tracks. 

“You’re gonna love Monday’s front page,” Keiko said, grinning.

“She’s alive!” She’d largely disappeared from the cafe after seeing Lavenza demolish Ren’s TV.

“Be nice!” Keiko said. “I’d argue an existential crisis was the proper way to react.”

Ren nodded. “That’s fair. We’ve missed you, regardless.”

“That’s sweet. Flattery gets you everywhere.” She sighed. “Someone told me your name’s been cleared.” 

“Who’s ‘someone?’” Ren raised an eyebrow.

“Miss Toriumi,” Keiko replied. “She’d heard enough of the rumors about your record, so she looked into it herself. Turns out they were dropped in early June.”

“That long ago? I just heard about it last week.” Ren shrugged.

“Shocking, cops being incompetent. More at 6.” Keiko said. “Yuck. I actually hate it when people talk like that.”

“Meh,” Ren said. “I take it you want to do an interview?”

“If you have time, but according to Lavenza, your life has been thrown into chaos or something.” Keiko scratched at her elbow. “I wish I could remember how she worded it.”

“You’ve been talking to Lavenza?”   
“She knocked on my front door a couple of weeks ago to apologize for sending me into a spiraling pit of despair,” Keiko said, shrugging. “We play Civ a few nights a week now. I swear, that girl knows everything.”

Ren didn’t have any words to respond to what he was just told. “Uh, I can meet you for an interview at LeBlanc tonight, if you have time. We’ll also all be studying there tomorrow after school. Either time works.”

“I’ll stop by after school tomorrow,” Keiko said. “I want to meet your sister, anyway.”

Ren’s jaw nearly dropped. “How the fuck do you know my sister?”

“Oh, when your name appeared in my newspaper she called me,” Keiko said nonchalantly.

“What’d you tell her?” He wracked his mind trying to think if Keiko had any information he was worried about Naomi getting.

“She didn’t have any information to barter with, so nothing.” Keiko shrugged. “She seemed cool, though. She told me she liked my vibe.”

Ren sighed. “She’ll be happy to see you, then.”

===

Hifumi’s first morning at Yasogami High was uneventful. The school was a clear step-down from Kosei in every single way, right down to the color scheme. ‘Black and yellow sailor uniforms? Yuck,’ Hifumi thought that morning when she got dressed. Her good luck charm didn’t match with the uniform nearly as well as it did with Kosei’s blue.

It was a dumb complaint, Hifumi knew, but it was something to complain about. She wasn’t happy and she didn’t have a good reason to be unhappy. Yasogami hadn’t given her much reason to feel strongly either way.

Her teacher introduced her to the class to silence. She bowed and introduced herself as politely as she could and nobody seemed to care. Her presence usually created a buzz even at Kosei, where people were used to her. 

It was nice to not even be a minor celebrity, Hifumi supposed. She could fly under the radar this way. Her only claim to fame at this school was ‘Riki-kun’s hot cousin,’ which she could live with.

===

_ After School _

Wakaba must’ve high-tailed it to Takemi’s clinic because she almost beat Goro there. 

She sat in Takemi’s exam room while the doctor shared awkward glances with her young patient.

“Can either of you tell me what’s going on?” She looked around the room. It was a bit more run-down than she expected a clinic to be. The exam room must’ve last been painted in the 90s, and the paint was starting to peel. Tae probably hadn’t done much renovating since she purchased the clinic. 

Tae shut the door. “Goro went through a second awakening two days ago.”

Wakaba raised her eyebrows. “That’s a good thing, isn’t it?”

“Normally, yes,” Tae said. “But his new Persona isn’t-”

“Choose your words wisely,” Goro snapped, then grabbed his head. “Sorry.”

“Oh,” Wakaba said. “I think I see the problem.”

“Yep,” Tae said, emphasizing the ‘p’ noise so it popped at the end. “And he’s one snap away from ending up with Rio’s foot so far up his ass, her toes will tickle his brain.”

“That’s a visual. Thank you, Dr. Takemi.” The doctor picked up on the sarcasm.

Goro was fighting a battle in his head. “Have you ever seen anything like this?”

“I have,” Wakaba said nervously. “With Maruki.”

“Oh, that’s fucking great,” Goro said, lashing out before grabbing at his head again. 

“Can you tell us what he’s saying? Who is your new Persona?” Wakaba asked.

“It’s Loki,” Takemi said. 

“He’s trying to reason with me,” Goro said, trying to catch his breath. His breathing slowed and he sounded calmer. “I just-” He stammered. “Maybe some sedatives will help me sleep.”

Tae nodded. “I can do that much. Do you think you’ll be able to regain control?”

Goro sighed. “Loki swears I’m overreacting.”

“You aren’t,” Wakaba said. “But he’s actually talking to you. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not, but it’s more than we ever got out of Azathoth.”

Goro shuddered. “He, uh, doesn’t like Azathoth very much.”

“That bad of a reaction?”

“He said if he gets to kill Azathoth, he’ll stop trying to drive me insane.” Then Goro laughed. “He also said ‘scout’s honor.’”

“We’ll get you some sleeping pills and give it a couple of days.” Takemi reached into a drawer and pulled out a note. “I’ll get you a doctor’s note for school.”

“What about Kaida?” Goro looked at Tae pleadingly. “We have to take him down as quickly as possible.”

“You kids have finals next week. I was going to talk to Ren about letting the adults handle it, anyway.”

“I’d be down to help,” Wakaba said. “I’ve been out of action for a while.”

“See?” Takemi smiled. “We’ve got nothing to worry about.”

===

“Sup, cuz?” Naomi greeted Hifumi when she walked through the front door. “How’s Yaso?”

Hifumi huffed at the greeting but put on a happy face. “It was a good first day.”

“Probably wasn’t,” Naomi said with a shrug. “Mom and dad aren’t home yet. You don’t need to lie.”

“It’s alright,” Hifumi shrugged. She dropped her bag off in their shared room. The Amamiya home was much larger than any apartment Hifumi had ever lived in. It was surprisingly spacious with a large living room. She imagined they wouldn’t have trouble seating their entire family plus another four or five people. Aunt Hitomi and Uncle Masashi must’ve been entertainers. She supposed Ren was, too, so that made sense. She took a seat on the couch across from where Naomi idly scrolled through text messages in an easy chair.

“You miss Tokyo yet?”

Hifumi shook her head. “No. Not really.” Naomi gave her a look. “I mean, the city’s nice. I miss my friends more than anything.” What she wouldn’t have given to have Kana or Yuuki here with her.

“I guess that’s what I meant,” Naomi said. She sounded bored. “I can introduce you to a few good people. Surprised Ren didn’t give you pointers on who’s cool and who isn’t.”

“I actually don’t know Ren very well.” Hifumi tried to recall any conversations she’d had with the guy she now understood was her cousin. “We have some mutual friends, is all. He’s usually busy doing his own thing.”

“What kind of people is my brother hanging around?” Naomi still sounded bored, but Hifumi could tell she was invested in her answer.

“Well, Yuuki is a photographer. He’s pretty shy, I guess, but once you get to know him, he’ll talk your ear off,” Hifumi said, thinking of Yuuki. She didn’t realize she had sighed dreamily but Naomi noticed and pounced on it.

_ “Somebody’s _ got a crush,” Naomi teased, then laughed at Hifumi’s blushing. “Hard to believe we’re related.”

“Why?” Hifumi raised an eyebrow.

“Well, you look like us. There’s no doubt about that.” Naomi gave her a once over. “But personality-wise? We’ll have to get you trained up. Even Miya might eat you alive, and she’s cute as a button.” There was a family resemblance between the two. Naomi looked more like her father and Ren, but the straight black hair was the same as Hifumi’s on both her and Riki. Miya got the same frizzy mess as Ren. Naomi had the same steel-grey eyes as Ren, which Hifumi was jealous of. They could make eating dinner look mysterious.

Hifumi still took offense to Naomi insinuating she couldn’t handle some teasing. “I can stir things up just as well as you.”

“Prove it.” Naomi had mastered the hard gaze. Then she broke it with rolling eyes and laughter. “You’ll get there. What about the rest of your friends?”

Hifumi sighed and continued telling her about Yusuke, then Kana. She wracked her brain trying to think of anyone else she could talk about. 

“These are people my brother hangs out with?” Naomi raised an eyebrow.

“Yes.”

“Fuckin’ white bread.” Naomi rolled her eyes. “I always knew the city would make my brother soft. Stuffy art boys and volleyball players? He’ll probably come back a coffee snob or something.”

Hifumi laughed very hard. “He actually works at a coffee shop that makes it by the cup. It’s the best coffee I’ve ever had.”

“I guess I should start planning his funeral now. He’ll have a heart attack when I start making him drink instant again.” 

“It’d be the opposite, wouldn’t it?” Hifumi questioned. “Instant would be weaker than the fresh coffee he’s making.”

Naomi laughed. “I suppose you’re right. Want to come with me to go get Miya from daycare?”

“I’d love to,” Hifumi said, not letting Naomi get to her.

School might’ve been a dud. Seeing Miya’s smiling face when they picked her up from daycare was not. Hifumi decided she could get used to having a happy face to come home to. Inaba wouldn’t be so bad.

===

_ Evening _

Makoto spent her whole afternoon catching up on homework and studying she hadn’t had time for because of the Phantom Thieves. Her parents sat quietly in the living room watching television. Sae was returning home from work fairly soon, she’d told Makoto through text.

This meant Makoto could close the books for a bit and spend time with her parents. Her father hadn’t spoken much since he returned from his detainment.

“How was your day?” Makoto asked, re-entering the family room. 

“Long,” her father replied. It was nostalgic to hear him say that. Whenever she’d ask him that after work, he’d always given the same reply. “But I’ll live.”

“That’s good, I suppose,” Makoto replied. 

“Your father’s being dramatic,” her mother said. “He’s worried he’ll get arrested again.”

“He won’t,” Makoto said. “They detained him illegally and now that they know he’s under Kirijo protection, they wouldn’t dare go after him.”

Her father sighed. “I wish that were true, but I know some of these guys. Additional protection is just going to make them even more gung-ho.” He put on a faux macho voice. “Does that Kirijo bitch think she can-” He rolled his eyes. “You get my drift.”

“I understand your concern,” Makoto said. “But trust me when I say being on the Phantom Thieves’ side is safer than theirs.”

Her mother started laughing. “Hey, Takeo, remember when you used to get angry with me for saying Makoto was better suited as a criminal than a cop?”

“You started saying it when she was two years old,” he replied. “Of course, I was angry at you for insinuating our adorable little girl was going to be a criminal.”

“Uh-huh, yes. Sure.” Then she chuckled. “Do you remember the bet we made?”

“We made a bet?” Her father looked confused.

Makoto couldn’t believe her ears. “You guys made a bet!?”

“Oh, we made a bet alright,” her mother said, her eyes gleaming.

Her father’s face fell. He definitely remembered the bet. “No way am I paying up.”

“You’re  _ definitely _ paying up.” Makoto’s father looked much more afraid of his mother than he did while being arrested.

“What did you even bet?” Makoto asked, terrified of the answer that could follow.

“Remember when you kept begging your dad for a kitty and he’d say you weren’t old enough to take care of one yet?”

Makoto nodded sadly. “You died shortly after.”

“It’s a good thing I’m alive to remember, then,” she said, not letting Makoto kill the mood. “Because we’re getting a cat.”

The lock on the door made a noise and Sae entered the room.

Makoto tried to hide her excitement but failed, practically turning into a little kid again. “Sis! We’re getting a cat!”

“Uh, hello to you, too,” Sae gave her parents a confused look.

Makoto raised an eyebrow at her mother. “Hey, do we get two cats because both your daughters are criminals?”

“Excuse me?” Sae marched over, although she was less angry than she let on. She laughed once they told her the story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one week because Christmas, plus this chapter and the last one fit together well enough that they could have been one. 
> 
> You know how I constantly complain about having too many characters? This is my way of remedying it. I'm getting to my end game, and a way to simplify the rest of the plot. If you think there are some similarities between Ren's family and the people he surrounds himself with, well, let's just say there's a reason he fell in so quickly with the group he did. 
> 
> I love all these characters so much. This is stupid lmao. I need to get back to the fluff soon or else I'll go nuts from being tense all the time. Like, not really, but fluff is fun to write.
> 
> Merry Christmas, everyone. Thank you so much for reading. It means a lot to me.


	61. Clear Skies

_ December 31, Late Night _

“Where the fuck did you get fireworks?” Naomi’s brother pushed a shopping cart full of explosives into their garage.

Ren shrugged. “I never ask Aika her methods.”

The garage’s dark and dingy atmosphere didn’t help Naomi’s bad gut feeling. It was her least favorite room in the house, although she didn’t exactly sit around ranking her favorite rooms all day. “It looks like we’re trying to overthrow the monarchy.”

“I wish,” Ren chuckled. “Want to?”

“I think we’d need guns.”

“Probably.” Ren absent-mindedly picked up a bright, colorful box that depicted a shiny explosion. “Mortars are outdated. The cops would take us down before the military even showed up.”   
“I-” Naomi stammered. “I just want one normal brother. Is that too much to ask?”

“Yes.” Ren deadpanned. 

“How are we going to get all this into Yasogami?”

“You’re resourceful,” Ren shrugged. “You’ll figure something out.”

_ “I’ll  _ figure something out?” Naomi nearly shat herself. 

“Well, we only need a way in,” Ren said. “I gave you the easy part. There’s a fire escape on the way down, just make sure you wear shoes with dull bottoms.”

“Why-”

“To stop us from leaving tracks! These are mortars.” This wasn’t the question Naomi was about to ask, but she was still intrigued by his answer. “They leave black powder around there, and we’ll definitely have old man Dojima on our tail. He’s crafty.”

“Did you even think about how  _ cold _ that fire escape is going to be?”

“Oh? Should I have Miya come with me? Maybe she’ll be less of a baby,” Ren grinned at his older sister, who couldn’t shake the alarm bells going off in her head.

“Fine.” She sighed. “What’s this plan?”

Some time passed as Ren explained his hair-brained scheme to get onto the school roof. They loaded the fireworks into their dad’s van. They’d park far enough away from the school that surveillance wouldn’t see it. Whenever Naomi pushed back, Ren brushed her off, like setting the school on fire  _ wasn’t _ something they should be worried about. 

It surprised neither of them that the school gate remained open from earlier in the day. Inaba was a quiet town and nobody would ever think to try a stupid scheme like this. 

Ren pulled a poorly made lockpick out of his pocket once they got to the front door. 

“What the fuck are you doing?” 

“Trying to get in the front door?”

Naomi huffed. “Do you really think that lock pick will work on a deadbolt?”

“I-” Ren gave her a look. “Let’s see you do better.”

“Fine,” and she ran. Ren sat, leaning against the door. She wasn’t gone long. She pulled a key out of her pocket, and opened the front door. Ren pushed the shopping cart up a single step.

“Where’d you find the key?”

“I can’t tell you,” Naomi said with a smile. The school kept a spare key under the bushes by the soccer field. Little had changed since she left, although the soccer field was in desperate need of being resodded. Naomi sprained her ankle during a game her first year, which actually led to them fixing the pitch. 

“Whatever,” Ren grumbled. “Help me get all these upstairs.”

They had four boxes of fireworks, plus two separate mortars to carry. It was heavy but doable. The shopping cart had been stolen from the sewing club, anyway, so Ren could leave it by their door with little suspicion. Somebody there would definitely take the blame. 

“I can’t believe we’re doing this.”

“Nobody made you come with me,” Ren said. She could hear the grin in his voice. 

“You were going to bring Miya instead!”

“That was a joke, dummy,” He chuckled. “Besides, if she’s helping me light the fireworks, she won’t get to see them.”

“Do mom and dad know what you’re doing?”

Ren shrugged. “Mom’s got an inkling. Dad would have me facing a firing squad.”

The rooftop was Naomi’s favorite place in Inaba. She could see for miles. Seeing it at night was a marvel. Ren set up the mortars while she literally stared off into space. The sky would have been pitch black had it not been for the stars, and Inaba gave off little enough light pollution that the faint powder that made up other galaxies could be seen. She almost forgot that she helped her brother break into a school, and they were almost definitely going to get arrested before the night was over.

“You ready?”

Naomi hated feeling like a cliche, but stargazing always made her feel like talking about the universe. “We couldn’t have just come up here without causing trouble?”

“What’s the fun in that?” Ren smirked. 

“The sky’s kind of crazy, when you think about it,” she said. “I just don’t get to look at it like this often.” She pointed off in the distance, where the pitch-black changed to a murky, ugly purple. “You can make out Okina from here, even if you can’t see the buildings. Isn’t that incredible?”

She leaned up against the railing that surrounded the top of the building. Ren did the same.

“It’s interesting to think about, for sure.” He sighed. “There’s a sense of dread I get from thinking about the endless possibilities.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s just the improbability of everything.” He shook his head. “Even the improbability of existence bothers me, on occasion. All those stars out there, and we’re the only thing that matters? I just don’t understand how people can have their gods and their ideals when we have proof of what does exist. It’s hard to believe anything matters.”

“You really know how to kill a mood,” Naomi sighed. “Let’s blow some shit up.”

===

They lit the mortars and treated Inaba to a fireworks show, a grand finale of sorts for Ren, who just weeks later was unjustly robbed of a normal, if not uninteresting life of bitching about living in a small town with his older sister...

===

_ Saturday, April 9 Early Morning _

Naomi sighed. Miya never cried like this. Their father couldn’t peel her off Ren’s leg.

“Miya, you have to let go.”

“No!” The four-year-old shouted. “I’m going with RenRen!”

Their father groaned. “I wish we could all go with him, Miya, but we have to let him go.”

“RenRen wouldn’t hurt anybody!”

_ “I know,” _ their father said. Naomi knew the pain in his voice. They weren’t a poor family. They could afford a lawyer. It shouldn’t have been a problem, except every lawyer they called refused to accept the case within an hour of hearing it. Naomi assumed they were all warned ahead of time, but her father shook his head. He didn’t believe that was even a possibility. “Ren will be okay.” 

“He’ll be okay, Miya,” Naomi said, joining her father’s attempt to get Miya off her brother’s leg.

Ren stood there awkwardly, as always. He’d completely shut down since the arrest. He was tried and sentenced with no arguments allowed. “Ren’s a big boy. He can handle himself.”

“I’ll be fine,” Ren said, resolve in his voice. Naomi wanted to slap him.

She hugged him instead. “You need to call me every day.”

“You know I’m not allowed to do that,” Ren replied. 

Naomi glared at him. “Oh, so rules matter now?”

“Now that there’s a lengthy prison sentence hanging over my head?” Ren rolled his eyes. “Yeah. They do.” He sighed. “I want to be out in time to see you graduate.”

Naomi chuckled. “Ah, so you’re shooting for 25 to life?”

“Naomi!” Their father interrupted.

“Erm, I mean, yeah, dad. School’s going great.”

They’d gotten into plenty of trouble in the past few years, but nothing greater than the trouble that came when Ren decided to shove his nose into somebody else’s business.

Naomi tried to pretend she wasn’t proud of him.

She failed, and soon she was hugging him just as tight as Miya.

Naomi wasn’t one for crying: That was their mother’s place. She choked on her words. “I’ll see you next year, Renski.”

He rolled his eyes. He hated when she called him that. “Just pretend I’m studying abroad, or something.”

“Study lots of broads,” Naomi replied, laughing through some stray tears.

“What’s a-”

Their father interrupted Miya. “You’ll find out when you’re older.” He sighed. “Would it kill you two to be a bit more appropriate?”

Ren and Naomi matched shrugs. 

The conductor gave his last call, and Ren boarded the train, but not before saying goodbye.

“You won’t even recognize me when I get back,” he said, his crooked grin doing little to comfort his sisters or his father. 

Naomi had a strange feeling he would never see Inaba again.

===

_ Sunday, April 10, Evening _

The day after Ren arrived, the Tokyo Metro Train system suffered a major breakdown leading to the deaths of hundreds.

Naomi couldn’t reach her brother but she knew he was taking the no contact order seriously. Her father reached Sojiro Sakura, the man Ren was staying with and confirmed that Ren was indeed safe and sound.

“101 people are confirmed dead after a Tokyo Metro train conductor blacked out behind the wheel. The cause of the crash is currently unknown and the conductor is under investigation by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Possible motives for the incident are currently unknown.” The newscaster continued. “Now onto Mariko Kusumi with the weather.”

“Is Ren okay?” Naomi startled. Miya looked up from her LEGOs. She nodded.

“Ren is okay, sissy,” Naomi said. “Tokyo is a big place.” That was more for her than it was for Miya. Miya went right back to building her tower, which she was positive was the largest in existence. 

“It’s even taller than you, sis!” She beamed with pride. It was a nice distraction.

‘Tokyo is a big place,’ Naomi thought over and over. Just because something happened in Tokyo doesn’t mean Ren had to be involved. ‘Knowing Ren, he probably is.’ She frowned, hoping Miya didn’t see it.

===

_ Friday, April 19, Between Classes _

_ “Bro, did you see that fight?” _

_ “What fight?” _

_ “Some kid at Shujin knocked Kamoshida the fuck out.” _

_ “Like, the volleyball player?” _

_ “Dude, I’ve never seen an amateur move like that.” _

“Shujin?” Naomi interjected. She didn’t know either of the men going back and forth well.   
“It’s a school in the city,” one of them replied in a condescending tone.

“Yeah,” she huffed. “My brother goes there. Do you have the video?”

He held up his phone and hit the play button. The video was muffled as if the person taking it didn’t want to be seen. They could be heard whispering “Worldstar!” like they wanted to be shouting. She watched what could have been her younger brother dodge a few punches and throw one of his own, knocking the massive professional athlete to the floor. She heard him mutter something about punishing the king.

‘Is that actually Ren?’ Naomi didn’t say anything. “Thanks,” she said. “I’ll see if my brother can tell me what happened.”   
“Bro, he’d be a legend if he could give us a good rundown,” one of the guys said. Naomi wasn’t listening too intently.

‘He might already be a legend,’ Naomi huffed inwardly.

===

_ Thursday, April 29, Afternoon _

“Hi, Miss Niijima,” Naomi said. She rarely stuck around after class. She decided a prosecutor from Tokyo would be worth chatting up.

“Hi, Miss-”

“Amamiya,” Naomi said. “I was hoping you could help shed some light on something.”

“I don’t know how much good I’ll be able to do,” she said, shrugging. “Typically, people will consult a lawyer for defense purposes, but I’m quite the opposite.”

“That’s why I think you’re perfect,” Naomi said. She tried to give a reassuring smile or something to put the prosecutor at ease. She thought herself better than Ren in that regard, but she supposed it worked better on the opposite sex. “My brother was arrested for assault last month.”

Niijima raised an eyebrow. “What happened?”

“That’s what has us confused. He’s a troublemaker,” Naomi left out the part where she was probably considered a troublemaker, too. “But he’s never attacked anyone. It’s not in his nature.” Naomi spilled the story exactly as Ren told it, and exactly as it was explained to the judge by the prosecution. Their case was not strong, and the judge claimed him guilty and sentenced Ren anyway.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Niijima replied. “It sounds like he helped her?”

Naomi nodded. “Even the prosecution was willing to cede that he stepped in to help a woman he thought was in danger. The judge found him guilty anyway.”

“And the jury?”

Naomi shrugged. “Straight guilty verdicts.”

She could tell Niijima didn’t like where the conversation was going. “What was the sentence?”

“Two months in juvie and he has to complete his probation in Tokyo. They gave him a no-contact order with us” Naomi chewed the inside of her lip. Just speaking to this woman was nerve wracking.

“That’s excessive,” Niijima failed at giving a comforting look, but Naomi appreciated the effort. “Did they really think separating a small-time criminal from his family would help him be less of a criminal?” 

Naomi sighed. “Thank you for listening to me, regardless.” She bowed respectfully. Niijima had no reason to stay behind and listen to her questioning. “It’s just hard to trust the justice system when I’ve seen first-hand what it can be like for people like me.”

Niijima nodded in agreement, then handed her a business card. “You’ve given me some things to think about. If you’d like, I’d be willing to go further into this conversation once I’m back in my office. I’ll have access to my files, which should allow me to provide better answers.”

Naomi grinned back at the prosecutor. “Thank you, Miss Niijima. Seriously. You have no idea how much you even listening to me means.”

Her plea for help had been at least partially successful, but not successful enough to keep her from dying her hair. Green seemed like a good color.

===

_ Friday, April 30, After School _

“This is Niijima,” a stern, womanly voice came back over the phone.

“Hi, Miss Niijima,” Naomi said. “This is Naomi Amamiya. We spoke yesterday.”

“Hello, Miss Amamiya,” Niijima replied. “I had time this morning to look into your brother’s case.”

Naomi could hear her moving papers around through the phone. 

“He’s 16-years-old, living in Yongen-Jaya with-”

“Sojiro Sakura is the man’s name,” Naomi said. “I guess he’s a kind old man that offered to take him in when my mother reached out.”

“Sojiro Sakura…” Niijima said. “Where do I know that name from?”

“Did you find anything about Ren?”

Niijima sounded startled as if she was thrown off track. “His case is one of the most bizarre I’ve ever seen. One witness, who swears he is guilty while also being grateful for his help. The man he assaulted doesn’t even have a name on record. Both of the arresting officers were out of their jurisdiction. They were Okina Police Department employees.” Niijima sighed. “Your brother was-” She gasped. “Holy fuck.”

“Uh, Miss Niijima?”

“Sorry, MIss Amamiya.” She said. “I need to go, and I suggest you don’t look much further into your brother’s arrest.”

“Great,” Naomi said. She wished she hadn’t dyed her hair already. It was nice therapy and too soon to dye it again.

===

_ Monday, May 2, Early Morning _

“Unfortunately, the rain won’t be letting up for the better part of the next week,” Mariko Kusumi sounded more down than usual that morning as she wrapped up her portion of the newscast.

Naomi related to the television meteorologist on an embarrassing level. She always seemed so gloomy behind her on-camera smile, and there was a certain doom held within her voice when she warned of oncoming rain. She always wore a lock pad choker that Naomi wanted, which might be where the obsession originally started, helped by the fact that weather had to do with the sky, and Naomi was obsessed with the sky.

Naomi emailed her asking where she could get a similar one, and Kusumi emailed back telling her she was born with it. She appreciated the sense of humor.

“In other news, Shujin Academy Principal-” Naomi’s ears perked up. “Was found dead after accompanying Volleyball coach Suguru Kamoshida, who turned himself in, confessing to multiple sexual assaults. We’re being told Kamoshida received a calling card from a group referring to themselves as The Phantom Thieves. It is unknown if his confession is related to the calling cards.”

Naomi rolled her eyes. “That sounds like the type of stupid bullshit Ren would make up.” 

She didn’t get to finish her thoughts or send a text to her brother that she knew would go unanswered. 

Riki bounded through the door, shouting like a lunatic.“Sis! I made the team!”

Naomi chuckled. “They run out of warm bodies again?”

“They saw my mad skills and begged me to join,” he said, puffing out his chest. 

She laughed at her diminutive little brother’s arrogance.

“Don’t laugh at me!” 

“I can’t help it,” Naomi shrugged. “What ever did I do to be blessed with such adorable little siblings?”

“I’m not adorable!” Riki’s bright red cheeks and crackling voice said otherwise.

Naomi walked over and patted him on the head. “You’ll make a fine little sportsball player.”

“It’s basketball!” He shouted in protest. 

She giggled. “I know.” She left out how annoying that attitude towards sports was for her, too. She regretted not sticking with soccer in college.

===

_ Saturday, June 11, Morning _

“Happy birthday!” A little voice screeched in Naomi’s ear at- she glanced at the clock on the wall- 6:43 a.m. on a Saturday. 

She grumbled something she hoped Miya didn’t hear. 

“Sis! You gotta wake up!” The voice screeched again.

“Thanks, Miya, but ‘m tryin’ ta sleep,” Naomi said with a gravelly voice. 

“You promised, though,” Miya whined. “We can’t miss the train!”

“Train?” Naomi shook herself awake, sitting up in her bed. Miya sat next to her.

“To Okina!” Miya beamed, while simultaneously trying to push her pajama-clad sister off the bed. “Gymnastics today!”

“Is that really today?” Naomi barely recalled telling Miya she’d take her to the next one when she begged back in February. 

Miya nodded excitedly. “Yeah!”

“On my birthday?” Naomi raised an eyebrow.

“All you’re gonna do is mope around anyway,” Miya said.

Naomi rolled her eyes, knowing those weren’t Miya’s words.“Miya, what’s the word mope mean?”

“Dunno,” Miya shrugged. “Mom said you were just gonna mope around all day.”

“If mom’s up already, why can’t she take you?” Her mother never slept more than a few hours at a time. She was often in bed by midnight, awake by four, and then in bed by 8 a.m. Naomi knew the answer to this question already.

Miya looked confused. “It’s Saturday. Mom sleeps in on Saturday.”

“And I don’t?” Naomi had classes all week. 

“Mom said you’d say that, too.” The pleading eyes were becoming too much for Naomi.

“What about dad?” She would just keep throwing out ideas in hopes of Miya getting tired of talking to her.

Miya grinned. “He’s fixing Aika’s scooter.” That Riki broke, is the part she left out. He rammed her with his bike trying to steal Chinese food. Naomi and Ren might’ve taught him that trick.

“And Riki?” Naomi knew it was a bad idea the second she spoke the name. 

“Mom said he’s not allowed anywhere women wear tight clothing.” 

Naomi chortled. “How much did mom drink last night?”

Miya shrugged. 

“Alright, kiddo,” Naomi huffed. “I’ll take you.”

Her heart melted as her little sister beamed. “Yay!”

===

_ Saturday, June 11, Evening _

Shiroku Pub wasn’t Naomi’s first choice for her 21st birthday. She cancelled her plans to spend it with friends in Okina. It probably would have been more fun. 

Naomi just didn’t feel like celebrating, plus two trips out of the city in one day was too much. Miya’s excitement when they met two of the gymnasts was adorable, but exhausting. The twin gymnasts were extremely gracious, seeming just as excited to be recognized as Miya was to meet them. She swore one of them kept staring at her, like maybe they knew each other, somehow.

“Welcome!” Old Lady Shiroku made her way from down the bar where she was having a spirited conversation with Officer Dojima. Naomi couldn’t shake the guilt of drinking in front of a cop, but he was three sheets to the wind anyway. ‘How’s he getting home?’ “What can I get you?”

“Uh,” Naomi shrugged. She’d never had any alcohol except for shitty cheap wine and the vodka her and Ren snuck out of the pantry once. Ren puked everywhere, and they ended up getting caught. “Got a special?”

“Your first time?” Shiroku asked, raising an eyebrow. Naomi nodded. “I’ll need to see some ID, then.” 

Naomi pulled the ID out and showed it to the woman. “Just turned 21 today.”

Shiroku nodded and smiled happily. “This one’s on me, then.” She turned her back to Naomi and Officer Dojima looked in her direction. She’d never seen him so jovial.

“You’re Amamiya’s oldest, right?” He had a gruff voice and he slurred his words. 

Naomi nodded.

“Shit,” he huffed and took a drink of his beer. “I’m old.”

‘This is awkward,’ Naomi thought. ‘I really would rather be anywhere else.’ Shiroku returned with a dark blue-green beverage in a fancy glass. It had an umbrella on top. 

“Drink it slow,” she warned. “It’s stronger than you expect.”

“What is it?” Naomi noticed a strong liquor smell coming from the glass, but she couldn’t quite place it. 

“Ever heard of a Long Island?”

Naomi shook her head. 

“Then I have no idea how to explain it.” Shiroku nodded as if telling her to drink up. “You’ll like it, though. Most the young kids do.”

She took a sip and immediately knew Shiroku wasn’t lying. The drink was very boozy, but also extremely sweet, reminding Naomi of candy her father used to bring home for them after work when they were kids. “Thank you. It’s great.”

The pub’s doors creaked as a black-haired woman wearing a red blouse walked in. 

“Welcome!” Shiroku greeted. Naomi recognized the woman, she thought. ‘Amagi?’ She looked like the girl that ran the inn, but Naomi didn’t know her well. She rarely had a case to be on that side of town, so she only knew Yukiko by reputation. She was a hot topic among guys at school dating back to Naomi’s first year at Yasogami. Yukiko had a tendency to shoot down any man who asked her out. 

Naomi always thought it was a bit misogynist. If she’s not interested, she’s not interested. Naomi went through something similar in her third year when she made it clear that she wanted no ties to Inaba after high school. She’d even rejected guys she was legitimately interested in because of that. Then she ended up stuck at home because Ren just  _ had _ to go and get himself arrested.

“Hi, Shiroku-san,” Naomi shook out of her thoughts when Yukiko greeted the bartender. Then she greeted Dojima from across the room, which is the kind of thing that can only really be done in a small-town bar. “Dojima-san, how’s Nanako?”

He shrugged. “She’s good. Hopefully at home.”

“I’m surprised you’re not there,” Naomi recognized a hint of concern in Yukiko’s voice. 

“She likes her alone time,” Dojima chuckled and huffed. “Teenagers, you know?”

“I can’t envision Nanako ever acting like a teenager,” Yukiko said in between ordering a drink. “You’re gonna need to provide proof next time it happens.”

He rolled his eyes. “She’s more tame than most, but I made the mistake of asking her about a crush.”

“No!” Yukiko covered her mouth and tried not to laugh too hard. “She’s just a little girl!”

“That’s what I said,'' Dojima laughed. “I just hope she’s not as much of a pain as Yu was.”

Yukiko stammered when she tried to change the subject. She looked to Naomi for help. “You look familiar.”

Naomi leered. “I was a couple years behind you at Yasogami.” She took a drink. 

“Oh.” Yukiko furrowed her brow. “I don’t think that’s where I know you from.”

“Well, that’s where I recognized you from,” Naomi said, trying to keep from rolling her eyes. Yukiko Amagi was a bit of an airhead, apparently. Somehow, she didn’t find that shocking. 

“Do you have a brother?”

“Two of ‘em,” Naomi said, stirring the umbrella around in her drink. “Ren’s 16, but he’s living in Tokyo right now. Riki’s a first-year at Yasogami.”

“Ren?” The lightbulb went off for Yukiko. “Oh! He didn’t mention having a sister.” She absentmindedly stared into her drink. “Actually, he didn’t even mention being from Inaba at all.”

“He’s probably embarrassed about his arrest,” Naomi sighed and recited the family line. “He’s not allowed to contact us, anyway. It’s probably easier if no news gets back.” She was secretly furious with her brother for disappearing like this. 

“He’s definitely got a lot on his mind,” Yukiko replied. “And nobody asked, either. He’s not the type to answer a question nobody asked.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Naomi said. “It’s fucking irritating. Meanwhile, I’m stuck at home with a little brother that tells us everything.” Yukiko giggled and Naomi deadpanned. “Literally everything. Anyway, how’s my brother doing? Any good gossip I can annoy him with when he comes home?”

Yukiko put a hand under her chin and took a second to think her answer through. “He’s surrounded by beautiful women and he’s constantly complaining about it.”

Naomi laughed very hard, finally finishing her drink. She was definitely feeling the liquor. “That’s my brother, alright. Is he at least less oblivious?”

Yukiko nodded. “He’s got a girlfriend, so I think so? She’s pretty clear with everyone that he’s off-limits.”

Naomi raised an eyebrow. “Possessive?”

Yukiko chuckled. “Just a little. She’s very devoted.”

“How long have they been together?”

“A couple months?” Yukiko shrugged. “I didn’t ask. They seemed comfortable, though.”

“Shit,” Naomi laughed. “Well, hopefully they’re being safe.”

“Safe?” Yukiko asked, but interrupted before Naomi could explain. “Oh! That’s- should I ask if they’re being safe? I feel like I should ask.”

“I mean, that’s not your responsibility,” Naomi started grumbling. “I need another drink before I get on the next train to Tokyo.”

“Why are you drinking alone, anyway?”

“Eh. Made plans for my 21st in Okina and decided I didn’t feel like going there twice in one day.” Naomi tried to avoid playing the birthday card. “Plus, I’ve been stuck in a rut since Ren left. I don’t feel like partying.”

His exit fucked up so many of her plans that she wondered if she could work out a reparations system. 

“Is today your birthday?”

Naomi nodded.

“And you’re drinking at a bar with me and Dojima-san? That’s a bit depressing.”

“I think Dojima-san is spending the night with his thoughts,” Naomi glanced in his direction. Shiroku placed a shot of whiskey and another beer in front of him. “I miss Ren.”

Yukiko later confessed that she hung around longer than she planned on that night. Naomi was grateful for that.

===

_ Saturday, July 2, Evening _

Naomi answered a knock at their front door to find a man dressed in a black suit, wearing black sunglasses. She wished she hadn’t answered the door the second she saw him. He had slicked back black hair and seemed to have the potential to turn into some kind of slimy alien monster like that movie she’d make Riki watch whenever he was being a little shit.

“Is this the Amamiya residence?” The man asked in a deep voice. 

“Depends on who’s asking,” Naomi said. She wasn’t as good an actor as either of her brothers. Her voice definitely wavered a little. “What can I help you with?”

“The charges against Ren Amamiya have been dropped. He is to return home immediately.”

Naomi blinked hard as the man walked away. “What?”

The man didn’t respond. 

She definitely didn’t cry when breaking the news to her family. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably the most OC heavy fanfic chapter I've ever written and considering I have two other fics with OCs as main characters, that's pretty funny.
> 
> God, this chapter is just sad. I wrote it then forgot about it, so when I went to reread before posting, I bummed myself out. 
> 
> Enjoy!


	62. Pig Farm

_ Saturday, July 9, Morning _

“We really can’t afford to wait much longer on Kaida,” Fuuka argued.

“We don’t have a choice,” Sae argued back. Their morning devolved into a minor squabble. The Phantom Thieves all had final exams next week, and Sae and Mitsuru wanted to ensure the kids had the proper time to study. “If Makoto were to get anything less than an A on her exams because of her  _ extracurriculars, _ I’d never forgive myself.”

“How would that be your fault?” Fuuka wasn’t normally one to get incredulous, but she was struggling to keep calm. She didn’t know how to handle the less business-oriented Phantom Thieves. Sure, S.E.E.S. had their own shenanigans, but there were so many Phantom Thieves and they all had massive personalities. It was amazing any of them ever fell in line behind Ren.

“If I’d have done my job right, she wouldn’t have to be a Phantom Thief in the first place,” Sae replied. 

“That’s a fairly roundabout way of thinking, Sae-san,” Mitsuru said. “I don’t think you can fully blame yourself for that. But I do agree, we should find a way to limit their involvement, at least until finals are over next week.”

“Fine,” Fuuka said. “But we bring in backup.”

“Like who?” Sae raised an eyebrow. She hadn’t seen anyone besides her typical company in the Metaverse.

“Akihiko would be on the first train in,” Mitsuru said with a small laugh. “Junpei’s around. And we still have Minako and Tae.”

“And that gymnastics coach,” Sae said. “She texted me the other day.”

“The one that Minako drunkenly dragged into the Metaverse?” Fuuka asked, horrified. 

“The very same,” Sae said. “Hiraguchi wants to know when she can get involved.”

Mitsuru rubbed her temples. “Have we ever talked to Minako about not dragging civilians with her on her drunken adventures?”

“She’d be Jack Sparrow if we weren’t around,” Fuuka giggled. “We’re just lucky there wasn’t a way for her to explore the Metaverse until now.”

“We’re even luckier that the palace she discovered was pathetically weak,” Sae grumbled.

Mitsuru just shook her head and got the conversation back on track. “We’ll take today off, and we’ll head in tomorrow. I’ll shoot some messages around and see who’s available. Right now, we have us three, Futaba and the cat.” She fired off a message into what Sae assumed was some kind of Shadow Operatives group chat. 

“Wakaba will go, too,” Fuuka said. “She asked me if she could go yesterday.”

“Great,” Mitsuru said with partial sarcasm. 

“What’s your issue with Wakaba?” Sae asked.

Mitsuru rolled her eyes. “I like Wakaba, but it’s like somebody gave Minako an IQ of 190 and told her to go wild.”

“That’s not how IQ works-”

“I know that’s not how IQ works, Fuuka,” Mitsuru sighed, then looked back down at her phone. It buzzed a few times while they were talking. “Akihiko will be here, but Chihiro and the kids are going sight-seeing, so he can’t take all day.” It buzzed again. “Naoto would like to see the palace, so she’s in. Chie’s coming, too.”

“That gives us more than enough for an infiltration, right?” Sae asked.

“It does. We’re a bit heavy on navigators, but that’s an embarrassment of riches, not a weakness,” Mitsuru said, and her phone buzzed again. “Shit.”

“Mitsuru!” Fuuka gasped. 

“Sorry,” Mitsuru gave Fuuka a soft look. “Shinjiro’s coming tomorrow.”

===

‘Okay, so what the fuck even are trains?’ Naomi thought she’d get to the city early and surprise Ren by waiting for him at- she looked down a piece of paper with an address and a name written on it- ‘Lay-Blank, whatever that is.’ Naomi never thought she’d be intimidated by the city, but her first trip there alone had her wandering Shibuya Station in circles in search of the train that would take her to Yongen-Jaya. It was only by luck that she ran into a woman who seemed to be heading there herself.

Naomi had been staring at the line that would take her to Yongen-Jaya for a few minutes, partially unsure she was getting on the right train and even more unsure of whether or not she’d even be welcome at this LeBlanc, whatever it was. 

She startled when the woman addressed her. “You headed to Yongen-Jaya?” 

Naomi nodded before taking a look at her. She was wearing a short grey skirt, torn black leggings and a leather jacket, dressed like she was going to a concert. Naomi appreciated somebody picking a style and sticking with it. She felt like she half-assed it when she died part of her bangs green. Naomi still dressed, well, she basically dressed the same as everyone else in her family. If schools had uniforms, the Amamiyas did, too: Jeans, t-shirts, sometimes a collared shirt. Rarely ever did anyone in her family dress up more than that, except Miya, who wouldn’t be caught dead wearing pants. If it weren’t a social taboo to run around pantless, she’d be going to school in her undies every day. 

Ren went through a similar phase. Naomi recalled it being much less cute when he did it. 

The train pulled up when the woman spoke again. “You look familiar. Is Ren your brother?”

Naomi gave the woman a look. “He is.”

“I guess we  _ don’t _ get to dress him in drag, then,” the woman shrugged. “You kinda take the surprise out of it.”

“Eh, you could still dress him up,” Naomi shrugged. “My hair doesn’t do the crazy poofy-frizzy thing his does.”

They made idle talk the rest of the way. The woman introduced herself as Tae Takemi, the doctor who owns the clinic a block away from where Ren’s staying. “You need me to walk you to LeBlanc? Ren should be at school, but Sojiro should be there with another one of our friends.”

They turned at a corner near a second-hand shop Naomi made a note of. She noticed some cute shirts that wouldn’t cost her but a few yen. She didn’t stop, though. Naomi was concerned she’d come off as too much of a country girl if she gawked for too long. 

A bell chimed as they entered a cafe. The smell hit Naomi before she could notice anything else. The combination of curry and coffee was intoxicating. 

“Welcome!” A cheery, short, auburn-haired woman greeted after taking a bite of a carrot. “What’s up, doc?”

Tae rolled her eyes. “You aren’t funny.”

“I wasn’t making a joke?” The woman gave a hurt look, then took another bite. “Who’s the straggler?”   
Naomi took a few steps into the cafe and bowed towards the woman. “Naomi. It’s nice to meet you.”

“I’m Minako,” the woman replied with a giant grin. “You must be Ren’s sister?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Yes,” Takemi and Minako spoke at the same time, then shared a look.

Tae sighed. “Well, I have to get to the clinic. Sorry for leaving you alone with Minako.”

“That’s rude!” Naomi could tell Minako was only mock-offended. “I’m a gracious host, and as far as I know, she’s just here for Sojiro’s coffee.”

Tae bid farewell and took off out the door.

“Is that woman really a doctor?”   
Minako shrugged. “Don’t judge a book by its cover. I got straight A’s through high school and college and I can barely hold down a job at a coffee shop.”

“Fair point,” Naomi shrugged. “I don’t really know what I’m even doing in college, so I can’t judge.”

“Anyone who tells you they know what they’re doing in their early 20s is setting themselves up for major depression in their 30s,” Minako said. “I had four majors and I still don’t know what I wanted to do with any of them.”

_ “Four?!” _ Naomi didn’t believe her. “And you got straight A’s?”

“I have the extremely unhealthy coping mechanism of throwing myself at everything I can until I pass out from exhaustion,” Minako shrugged. “I was dealing with the fact that I probably peaked when I was 16. Want some coffee? Sojiro kind of trusts me to make that.”

Minako’s tone shift jarred Naomi. “Sure,” Naomi replied. “So, how do you know my brother?”

“That’s a loaded question,” Minako chuckled. She placed a cup on the counter and started preparing a house blend because that was the only one Sojiro taught her. “I was a substitute gymnastics coach for his girlfriend.”

“He  _ does _ have a girlfriend!” Naomi squealed. “Ah! Sorry!”

“I’d react the same way,” Minako chuckled. “She, uh, might not be your biggest fan. Just a warning.”

Naomi raised an eyebrow. “What did I do?”

“Your brother is as clueless as mine. He didn’t think about the possibility that he’d ever get to return home and didn’t tell her anything about his family. She just assumed it was either a sore subject or they were dead.” She placed the cup in front of Naomi. “If it sucks, my bad. We normally have the best coffee in the city but Sojiro decided today was slow enough that he could go play hide the sausage with his girlfriend.”

“How long does that usually take them?”

“An hour?” Minako gave a thoughtful look. “That sounds about right. An hour or two.”

“Nothing is off topic with you, is it?” Naomi said, chuckling. 

“Nope!” Minako said with a big smile. 

“You sound like Ren,” Naomi said, then took a drink of her coffee. “Holy shit.”

Minako grinned. “It’s good, right? I didn’t even like coffee till I moved to Tokyo.”

“You aren’t from Tokyo?” She seemed to fit in this cafe extremely well, Naomi thought. Given how difficult a time she was having getting around, Naomi figured other noobs would be just as easy to point out.

“I don’t know where I’m from,” Minako shrugged. “I’ve lived in Iwatodai since I was 16, though.”

“Ah, sorry,” Naomi said. “I shouldn’t pry.”

“You’re good,” Minako said. “You’ll hear all about it from somebody eventually. What all has Ren told you?”

“He’s friends with a drug dealer,” Naomi laughed. “That’s all I know.”

“Damn,” Minako said. “He really told you about Kat before anyone else?”   
“I asked if he had a shrooms guy.” Naomi took another drink of her coffee. “He didn’t get the reference.”

“Oh.” Minako looked just as confused as Ren must have.

“Want to tell me your story? I’ve got nothing but time,” Naomi said. It was just reaching the afternoon.

“Maybe some other time,” Minako said. “Sojiro’s on his way back and he prefers to know as little as possible.”

“Weird that a guy who prefers to know nothing takes in a kid with a record. I wonder why he took Ren in?” Naomi wondered aloud.

“Dunno,” Minako shrugged, and the bell rang. A middle-aged balding man in a pink dress shirt, brown dress pants, and loafers walked in. He looked the good-kind-of tired Naomi had seen on her parents before. Gross. The last time she saw them like that, Miya was born nine months later. What kind of parents have kids 15 years apart? 

She was shaken out of her thoughts by Minako greeting the man. “Get a little afternoon delight?”

The man blushed a little. “It’s 11 a.m.,” he grumbled. “Did the place fall apart while I was gone?”

“Nah, but a tornado blew through,” she pointed at Naomi. “Kid’s sister came to visit.”

The man moved behind the counter and put on an apron. He pulled off the look. “Which kid?”

“The one that lives with you,” Minako gave the man a narrow glance. 

He gave Naomi an analyzing glance. “You must be the old one.”

“Like you’re at liberty to call anyone old,” Naomi rolled her eyes.

“You’re definitely his sister,” he sighed. “Great. The world needed more people like him.”

He sounded sarcastic but something told Naomi he was being genuine.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Sakura,” she said.

“Just Sojiro,” he replied with as friendly a smile as he was capable of. “How’s your dad?”

“Driving us all insane, as per usual,” she said. “He’s really excited for Ren to return home.”

She could tell by the looks she received that Ren had probably said something about not wanting to come home. Naomi didn’t blame him.

“Has he talked to you?” Minako asked. 

“Nope,” Naomi said. “Honestly, we thought he’d just rush right back when he found out the charges dropped.”

“That would be the logical conclusion,” Sojiro grumbled, more to himself than to Naomi.  _ “She _ made your coffee? And you’re still alive?”

“I’m not that bad!” Minako huffed. “I needed a guinea pig.”

This made Sojiro even more incredulous. “So you try to poison the kid’s sister?”

“Hey, man, dealing with a dead sibling isn’t  _ that hard,  _ okay?” Minako shot back in a combative tone that left Naomi confused.

“Just-” Sojiro rolled his eyes, then turned to Naomi. “I’ll make you another cup. She’s ridiculous.”

Naomi sighed and laughed. “I mean, you hired her, so who’s fault is it, really?”

“Exactly!” Minako chirped. “Now get to work, old-timer.” 

Sojiro grumbled something to himself that Naomi couldn’t quite make out, something about retiring young to live a quiet life and getting stuck with all these ‘fucking oddballs.’

Minako came out from behind the bar and plopped down next to Naomi. “Okay, so you have to tell me all the embarrassing stories you have about Ren before he gets home.”

“I really shouldn’t…” Naomi started. And then she did for hours.

===

_ Lunchtime _

Goro pulled Ren aside before class started that day to meet on the rooftop at lunch. Ren was a bit confused, given they met there every day, but Goro was adamant they meet alone. Ren sent a message in the group chat letting everyone know they had to find a new place to hang out at lunch for today. 

Ren waited patiently on the roof when the door opened and Goro came through. They greeted each other briefly before they jumped right into it.

“How’ve you been?” It was a question loaded with a lot of context Ren hoped Goro picked up on. They were in a fairly public place, so he’d like to keep some semblance of deniability in case anyone overheard them.

“Better, I think,” Goro said. “Things have changed a little.”

Ren took a seat on one of the discarded desks. “I’ve been told. What’s different?”

“Uh,” Goro stammered. “He talks. Like, he talks  _ a lot.” _

“Loki?”

Goro nodded.

“Yeah,” Ren sighed. “This isn’t my first time dealing with him. Do you feel like you can stay sane?”

“Tae gave me some sedatives for when it gets bad,” Goro said. “I think we came to an understanding. He’s still a nuisance.” Goro winced. “He claims he’s not.”

“He’s  _ that _ vocal?” Ren raised an eyebrow.

“He comments on literally everything I see and do,” Goro said. “He’s actually funny, sometimes.”

“I just need to know if we can trust him.”

“We came to an understanding, I think,” Goro explained to Ren what happened with Wakaba. Loki swore on his honor that he’d behave.

Ren nodded in understanding. “I trust you, Goro. If you think you can keep him reigned in, he’s going to be extremely useful.”

Goro looked at him, Ren knowing he expected a ‘but.’

“We’re going to avoid using the darker parts of his abilities, right?” Goro looked at Ren with some fear.

“It’s nothing we can’t handle, Goro.” Ren had handled it as an enemy a million times. He could handle it as an ally. 

“What if I lose-”

“You won’t lose your mind,” Ren stood up from his spot. Lunch was almost over. “There’s a lot of difference between the you I know now and the you I knew before. I’ve made a lot of the kindness you show others and how selfless you’ve been, but there’s more than just that. The Goro Akechi I dealt with before was an angry, flailing mess gifted with incredible power he didn’t understand. He was never going to ask for help even though he needed to so badly. But he was brilliant.” Ren chuckled a little. “That part didn’t change. The biggest change is that you’re the type of person to ask for help. Even now, I can imagine what he’d be saying. He’d probably call me a sap, or a loser, or an idiot, or something. Pick generic villain dialogue. Or just, like, imagine Rio talking to Minato when he’s being a shit.”

“You speak fondly,” Goro said with a questioning look.

“Eh,” Ren shrugged. “For everything that was wrong with him, I still had fun spending time with him. You’re basically all the parts of him that didn’t scare the shit out of me.”

===

_ Afternoon _

Ren entered LeBlanc with an entourage of-

‘Jesus Christ,’ Naomi thought. ‘No wonder he doesn’t want to leave.’

The girl that draped herself over his arm was cute as a button and looking at him like he was the only man on the planet.

“I think I understand why you don’t want to leave,” Naomi said, interrupting him from whatever nonsense they were going on about.

“Naomi,” he startled. His girlfriend didn’t let go of his arm. He provided a sheepish grin that was a lot more familiar than the smooth-talking crooked-grinning man that walked through the door. 

‘Holy shit,’ Naomi said. ‘He’s really grown up.’ He wasn’t any taller from what she could tell, but he had filled out quite well. She stood up and made her way over, wrapping him in a firm hug. 

“You’ve not been gone long enough to grow up this much,” she said with a laugh, then addressed his girlfriend. She was a quiet little- “Wait. We’ve met before.”

The girl looked at her, confused at first, then the lightbulb went off. “Oh! How’s Miya?” Then she grinned at Ren. “That little girl was your sister?” Naomi didn’t have words to describe how cute the girl’s excited squeal was. “Kasumi will be excited, too!”

“We should avoid standing in the door,” Ren said, making his way towards the stairs. 

The red-head traded Ren’s arm for Naomi’s arm and started leading her upstairs, mumbling a greeting to Sojiro. Ren sprinted ahead of them.

“Sumire!” Ren said. “I haven’t had a chance to clean!”

“Oh,” She stopped. “You’ve got 30 seconds.”

Ren scrambled upstairs to get rid of the evidence of things Naomi couldn’t imagine. He liked to keep his room at home clean. What kind of mess could he have possibly had?

Sumire made a show of counting to 30 while Ren could be heard scrambling around his room cleaning up everything he possibly could. It reminded Naomi of when their grandparents would visit. ‘Oh, no,’ Naomi thought. ‘Am I grandma’s replacement?’ She was a sweet old lady, despite her habit of taking the white glove to every room in the house when she visited. The family cleaning budget dipped drastically when she passed. 

“We’re good!” Ren shouted, before carrying a garbage bag downstairs.

Naomi plopped herself down on the raggedy old sofa that she was sure somebody pulled out from behind a dumpster at some point. Ren wasn’t back yet, but she could get some good information out of Sumire before he returned, hopefully.

“This is quite the coincidence, ain’t it?” Naomi was sure she sounded a bit awkward. She hadn’t really been introduced to Sumire, and she had no idea what they could talk about.

“Not really,” Sumire shrugged. “You’d be amazed how often this kind of thing happens. I can think of 8 separate occasions that we thought were coincidences that ended up being directly related to each other.” Naomi gawked, and Sumire let out a small laugh. “My sister started counting after the third one.”

“The third what?” Ren said as he came up the stairs. He must’ve heard their conversation. 

“We were talking about how coincidences don’t exist.”

Ren’s eyes bugged at his girlfriend, Naomi could tell. It was then that she realized he was hiding something. 

“I guess that’s true,” Ren said, but Naomi could see right through it. “It is pretty crazy that you met my sister already.” 

“Is it?” Sumire gave Ren a narrow look. 

Ren gritted his teeth. “It  _ is.” _

“Is there something you aren’t telling me?” Naomi felt like she was addressing some sort of unknown elephant in the room. She just didn’t know what caused the elephant’s existence.

“Well,” Ren stammered a little and paused. Naomi could tell when he was coming up with a lie. “I-”

“Look, I already had to deal with Riki discovering the wonders of touching himself, so if you guys are insinuating anything about sex, leave me out of it,” She chuckled. “Or anything else. Something is making you guys uncomfortable. If it’s something I need to know about, you’ll tell me when you’re ready.”

“I appreciate that,” Ren said with a huff. 

“You have so little faith in me.” Naomi had been telling Ren since he was old enough to make bad decisions that he could rely on her without fear of getting authority involved, whether it was mom and dad or the police. “Have I ever ratted you out for anything?”

Ren stammered. “I- uh,” he sighed. “I told you about how I forgot a lot of things.”

“Seriously?” Naomi tried to stop herself from getting too upset. He  _ did _ warn her. “How much did you forget?”

“Everything,” Sumire said. “I didn’t know he had a family until Yu told him.”

“Thanks, Sumire,” Ren said, sardonically. He looked sad. “I didn’t want to forget.”

“What happened?” 

He looked down and didn’t answer.

“Was prison that traumatic?” Naomi needed a reason for why he didn’t remember anything. He couldn’t have just forgotten his family, she thought. Ren loved them, and they loved him. He wasn’t abandoned. “We-” She choked. “Did you think we abandoned you?”

Ren nodded. “I couldn’t remember, and then-”

“He’ll tell you everything,” Sumire said. She sat next to him on his bed, rubbing his back. “I think we both knew we’d have to once you started coming around.”

“It’s easier to pretend with the younger kids,” Ren said. “And I can tell dad is like me. He’ll notice something is wrong, but he won’t ask if I’m not going to tell him.”

“What makes me different, then?” Naomi didn’t remember tapping her foot, but she couldn’t get her leg to stop.

“Something feels off,” Ren said. “It feels like this should be some huge moment, and I just don’t remember anything.”

“It’s like that movie!” Sumire’s smile returned. “With that goofy American guy and the pretty blonde girl!”

“That description fits nearly every romantic comedy America has ever produced,” Naomi said.

“Right,” Sumire stopped to think for a second. “50 First Dates!” 

“She’s my sister-”

“You know what I mean, Senpai,” Sumire said. “Every time the main character meets the love interest, she falls in love all over again even though she doesn’t actually know him.”

“How does that relate to our situation?” Naomi was intrigued. She also thought maybe she should watch this movie for research purposes. 

“He knows you’re important to him, and he still cares about you,” Sumire said. “He just doesn’t know why.” 

“That’s exactly what it’s like,” Ren said. 

Naomi huffed. She didn’t know why it made her feel better. They were still stuck at square one. “Where do we go from here?”

“I think you two just need to get reacquainted,” Sumire said. “Which is why I’ll lead this afternoon’s study session. We can all hang out later tonight.”

“Did you-” Ren gave her a strange look, as though he was as surprised as Naomi. “Did you plan this?”

“I had help,” Sumire smiled. “Makoto came up with the impersonal parts of the plan. Ann made me and Kasumi watch 50 First Dates like three times. Shiho nearly puked.”

“The movie was so bad she puked?” Naomi raised an eyebrow.

“No,” Sumire shrugged. “She found a bottle of- hey Ren, what’s that stuff Sojiro keeps in the back of the fridge?”

“Vodka?” Naomi couldn’t help but grin. Ren’s friends seemed pretty cool.

“Yeah, that,” Sumire giggled. “She found a bottle of vodka in the cabinet at Ann’s place.”

“Been there,” Naomi chuckled. “Not fun.”

“Anyway, we’re all going to study at Minato’s,” Sumire said as she grabbed her bag. “Just head there when you guys feel caught up enough to be around other people.”

She walked over to give Ren a hug.

“Uh, Naomi? Maybe look away,” Ren said with a crooked grin. 

Naomi rolled her eyes, then made a joke of covering them as Ren kissed his girlfriend in the most polite way one could possibly do so in front of company. She tried to pretend it was gross, but it really made her melt. Her little brother was growing up.

Sumire happily made her way down the stairs and presumably out of the cafe. Naomi knew within minutes of meeting her the first time that she was a sweetheart, but what she saw today was next level.

“Is your girlfriend some kind of saint? Maybe a Disney Princess?” Naomi chuckled.

“You know, I’ve wondered the same thing a few times,” Ren said. His cheeks were still a bit red. He pulled up his desk chair so he could sit closer to Naomi. It made conversation easier.

“How’d you two meet?” Naomi didn’t quite feel ready to dive into the strange barrier that still existed between her memories of her brother, and his lack of memories of her.

Ren stared off into space and smiled. “I wasn’t looking where I was going and she plowed into me.” 

Naomi couldn’t suppress a laugh.

“I’m serious!” Ren mocked being offended.

“She’s so tiny!”

It was his turn to laugh. “You’ve seen her. She only gives off the illusion of being tiny. She’s actually built like a tank.”

Naomi thought back to the gymnastics meet and then to a few minutes ago. “She  _ does _ have legs like tree trunks.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t go that far-” He didn’t get to finish his sentence.

“It’s death by snu-snu for my brother, I guess,” She said with a laugh, then laughed even harder when Ren’s face turned bright red.

“Can I finish my story?”

“Depends, is there anything else in it I can use to embarrass you?”

“I’m secretly thinking Minako is a long lost relative,” Ren said.

“You mean the barista from this morning? I could see it,” Naomi shrugged. 

“Anyway, she was mad because her twin sister asked out the guy she liked,” Ren looked happy reminiscing. “Just my luck, right?”

“So, you got the rebound?” Naomi raised an eyebrow.

“I wouldn’t call it that,” Ren said. “We didn’t start dating till a while after that.”

“Good for you, though,” Naomi said. “You two seem happy.”

“As happy as we can be, I suppose,” Ren sighed. “She’s terrified of me leaving.”

“Are you leaving?”

“I don’t think I can,” Ren said. “I think you’ll understand why once you meet everybody.”

“How many people is ‘everybody’?” Naomi gathered it was a sizable number just based on the conversation she had with Minako.

“There’s a lot of us,” Ren said, then looked like he was counting.

“You say this like you’re in a cult or something.”

“Yeah.” Ren scratched the back of his head like their dad did when he had something awkward to say. “Funny thing about that.”

“Ren, I swear to god,” Naomi said. “Did you move to the city and start a cult without me?”

Ren threw his hands in the air. “I didn’t do it on purpose!”

“Does this cult have a name?” Naomi asked.

Ren looked around the room, giving her the shifty eyes. “Are you going to rat me out?”

“I would never, ever rat you out for anything,” Naomi said. “You probably forgot, but we even made a contingency plan in case either of us ever killed somebody.”

“Pig farm?” He raised an eyebrow. 

Naomi nodded. “Pig farm.”

“Okay.” He folded his hands in his lap. “I’ll tell you.”

Then he paused and didn’t say anything for a bit.

“Me and all my friends are the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.” If Ren didn’t look so serious when he said it, Naomi would have laughed.

“Sure, Renski,” Naomi rolled her eyes. “And Riki just got drafted by the Lakers.”

“I’m serious!”

“You’re full of shit,” Naomi stood up. “Let’s go meet your friends. Hopefully, they’re a bit more honest with me.”

===

_ Evening _

“Honestly, you could just tell dad that all your friends in the city are rich,” Naomi got off the elevator with Ren, floored by Minako and Yukari’s high rise apartment. “We’re so high up.”   
“Are you scared?”

“Scared? God, you really don’t remember  _ anything!” _ Naomi ignored everyone else in the room and marched to the window so she could look down. “Think they’d let me try and climb down?”

She didn’t like the puzzled look Ren gave her. “I think everyone would assume you’re suicidal.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, and we already hit our suicidal person quota,” Ren said matter-of-factly. “Rio and Minato swap the title daily.

There was a group of students in the middle of the room staring into books. A few of them had looked up but said nothing. Naomi knew the grind of finals: There probably wasn’t much going on inside their heads. 

“How’s studying going?” Ren pulled a few of them out of their thoughts. 

A brown-haired girl with an interesting headband looked up. “I actually think everyone is in good shape.”

“He asked how studying was going,” a black-haired girl laying on her stomach next to a coffee table said. “But it’s nice to know you’re getting a good look.”

“You’re obnoxious,” a blonde girl replied.

The chortles around the room showed Naomi that most of them didn’t agree. 

Ren cleared his throat, and the room went quiet. “This is my sister, Naomi.” 

“You really weren’t kidding about the whole ‘cult’ thing,” Naomi laughed. “Y’all really listen to this guy?”

“He’s smarter than he looks,” said a girl that was far shorter and definitely younger than the rest of the group. “I’m Rio.” 

They went around introducing themselves in a circle. The giant girl was Kana. The girl with pink hair was Kat. The skinny boy with the terrible haircut was Minako’s little brother Minato. Sumire was there, seeming jazzed that she got to meet Naomi first. Her twin sister, Kasumi, recognized Naomi immediately and asked if Miya had started gymnastics classes yet. 

Then there was Makoto, who looked tense and stern but was actually quite friendly, and Goro, who looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks. 

Ann was the really pretty foreign-looking girl; Naomi felt the need to ask about her secret, but it was probably just great genetics and luck. Shiho was the girl laying on the floor. Apparently her and Ann were an item. ‘Not sure something like that would fly back home,’ Naomi thought. But they  _ were _ cute together. Shiho definitely seemed like she needed somebody there to keep her in line, and Ann had a talent for talking her down without coming off as a nag. 

They seemed like a good group.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I have some bad-ish news. This story is hitting the shelf for a month or so while I wrap up Covering the Phantom Thieves. Why? 
> 
> Here's the good news. The stories tie together! Seriously, they do. I swear. I can't reasonably go much further than where I'm at in this story without spoiling Covering the Phantom Thieves. I understand that asking people to read two stories is asking a lot, and reading Covering will not be a requirement to understand this story. This story going on hiatus is just better for my brain, because, well, chapters 16-18 of Covering are the heaviest things I've ever written. Both stories require a lot of focus, and I'm stretching myself thin by updating both. 
> 
> There may be a stray update wrapping up Kaida, but I've been really struggling with chapter 63 of this story. In hindsight, having a palace lineup with final exams is too difficult to write around, and having the P3 cast finish a palace for the Thieves feels like cheap story writing. 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who's been reading, commenting, subscribing, leaving kudos, and all that. Seriously, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Writing these types of stories has been my way of coping with what has not been a fun time in anyone's life. Have a happy new year!
> 
> Edit (1-6-21): In case it's not clear, there will be a chapter 63 that wraps up the arc. I reread and realized I wasn't very clear.


	63. The Birthday Party

_ Sunday, July 10, Morning _

Minako could tell from the look on Shinjiro’s face that he had no interest in any person there besides Koromaru. She would have been offended if that hadn’t been the case since the day he’d been introduced to the rest of S.E.E.S.

She wrapped him in a strong hug anyway, making her best attempt and squeezing the air out of his lungs. He was a large man, but it worked anyway.

“I still don’t get how you’re so strong,” Shinji chuckled and leaned down to pet Koromaru, who wanted in on the affection. 

“I can’t believe you’re actually here,” Minako said. “Where’s Akihiko?”

Shinji raised an eyebrow. “You’re talking to him again?”

“Did I stop?” Minako feigned ignorance.

“You couldn’t hear his name without-” He stopped talking when the apartment door opened and two little hellions came bounding through, colliding with each of Minako’s legs, knocking her to the floor. Each had Chihiro’s brown hair, but Chiyo looked exactly like Akihiko. ‘Lucky he’s pretty,’ Minako thought to herself. The other was the spitting image of his mother. ‘She’s pretty, too.’ She chewed her inner lip. ‘I guess.’

“Aunt Minako!” 

‘I don’t want kids. I don’t want kids. I don’t want kids.’ Minako thought to herself over and over again. It was extremely difficult to pretend she didn’t want kids when Ichi and Chiyo were around. 

“Hi, munchkins!” Minako wasn’t happy when she found out Chihiro was pregnant  _ with twins _ just a year after she and Akihiko broke up, although the air was cleared around everyone. It was hard to stay away, too, because those stupid rotten kids came out cute as could be and Minako was a sucker for cute kids.

It didn’t help that Minato was dead, meaning she’d never get her own opportunity to be the fun aunt, which everyone in S.E.E.S. agreed was a bit of a travesty. 

“Aunt Minako, have you found a boyfriend yet?”

It was Ichi’s favorite question to ask. He was a shy kid, but quite the gossip. Ichi didn’t miss a thing. 

“No, Ichi,” she rolled her eyes. “How many times have I asked you to find a new favorite question?”

“But mommy said it’s funny!”

“No, Uncle Shinji did!” Chiyo argued. “Mommy would never say something so mean.”

“Thanks, Chiyo,” Shinji grumbled.

“You’re welcome, Uncle Shinji,” she chirped, not quite catching onto the sarcasm. “Where’s Uncle Minato? Daddy said we’d get to meet ‘im.”

“Sulking, probably,” Shinji said.

“You haven’t seen him in 8 years, and you’re already giving him a hard time?” Chihiro flicked Shinji’s ear.

“What’re your plans for the day, Chihiro?” Minako only knew they were going sightseeing. 

“Well, the kids have never seen the Scramble,” she sighed. “I think that’s the only real thing on the agenda. They’re easy.”

Minako chuckled. “Tell Shinji that.” Shinji tried to leave the conversation to sit on the couch, so of course, the kids followed and were now using him as a tower to climb. Chiyo had already made her way up to his shoulders, removing his hat to reveal a freshly shaven head.

“Uncle Shinji is bald!” She cried in horror.

Minako and Chihiro shared a look and burst out laughing. 

“They’re easy for me,” Chihiro shook her head. “You guys have a nice place here. Mitsuru?”

“God forbid she let us work,” Minako said. “I’ve been covering shifts in a cafe to keep myself busy when we aren’t working.”

“That’s good,” Chihiro said. She was looking off into space. “So, about this  _ thing _ today. How dangerous is it?”

“For Aki?” Minako made a face. “Other than me, he’s the only one who still trains. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“What about Shinji?”

“He’ll be fine, too.” Minako sighed. “We won’t let anything happen to him. Besides, we’ve got Akihiko and Ken with us. He’ll fall right back into it.”

“I still don’t really know what it is you guys actually do,” Chihiro said. “I just know it nearly got Shinji killed, and it nearly got you killed, and it did kill your brother. Speaking of…”

“Minato!” Chihiro jumped at Minako’s shout. “Get your ass out here!”

Minato left his room and made his way down the hallway, footsteps thudding as he walked.

“Holy fuck.”

“Mommy! That’s bad!” Ichi chided his mother. 

Chihiro confessed later that it was the first time she ever had to contribute her pocket change to the kids’ college fund. 

“He didn’t change  _ at all,” _ Chihiro said, her voice still full of awe.

Minato gave a small wave to everyone and stuck a hand out to Shinji, pulling him in for a hug.

Minako leaned into Chihiro. “He didn’t find out Shinji lived until recently.”

“Oh.” Seeing the typically stoic Minato and Shinji share a hug was strange for everybody, even the children.

“I missed you, man,” Minato said. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“Man,” Shinji had to take a minute to catch himself. They broke off their hug and took a seat on the couch next to each other. “You die for eight years, and the first thing you say is you missed me.” The kids had stopped playing.

“Eh, if you said it first there was a chance I was going to cry in front of people,” Minato grinned. “I couldn’t let that happen.”

“Mommy, what does dying mean?” Chiyo made her way over to where her mother and Minako were standing. 

“It’s just the next great adventure, dear,” Chihiro said in a cheery tone.

“Harry Potter wasn’t cool before I died the first time, and it isn’t cool now,” Minato grumbled from the couch. 

“Good to see Minato still his same old self.” Chihiro rolled her eyes. “Where is my husband?”

He walked in minutes later, a couple of cuts on his face but looking no worse for wear otherwise.

“What the hell happened?”

Akihiko laughed. “Chie heard I was visiting.”

“So she jumped you!?” Chihiro sounded mortified but Shinji and Minako found it funny. Minato was busy having a staring contest with Chiyo, who decided her Uncle Minato was her new best friend and he had to come home with them. 

Minako was surprised at how quickly her brother took to the kids. 

===

“Do you think mom and dad would mind if Sumire and I came to Miya’s birthday party?” 

Naomi stopped her walk towards the train station. Ren didn’t have to walk her there, but he wanted to anyway. He discovered how to make curry that apparently cured hangovers. She couldn’t just tell him to  _ go away _ after that. 

“They’d be over the moon,” Naomi said, leaving out the fact that  _ she’d _ be over the moon, and Riki would be over the moon, and they’d all be so happy that it could overshadow Miya’s birthday and she probably wouldn’t care. 

Miya might not care, anyway, because she overheard Naomi ranting to an ex-boyfriend that birthdays were consumerist bullshit created by greeting card companies while she was trying to get out of him being angry that she forgot  _ his _ birthday. Her fourth birthday was fun, because not only was Miya in trouble for saying the word ‘bullshit,’ she also had to explain where she heard the word ‘consumerist’ from. 

“We’ll be there, then,” Ren said. “I get done with final exams for the summer on Saturday. We’ll be there sometime after that.”

“Nerd,” Naomi said. She gave Ren a hug before getting on her train.

===

_ Afternoon _

The similarities between Sae and Akihiko stopped after the silver hair. Minako discovered quickly that they would not be getting along at all. She could deal with that, she thought. Rio worked particularly well with Minato despite wanting his head on a platter most days. 

It turned out that this was a more adult-version of distaste for a person. Minako had to take time to think about  _ why _ it was surprising that a career policeman didn’t get along with a career prosecutor. 

“Our goal today is to make progress,” Mitsuru addressed the group. Minako would be the group leader, but Mitsuru had specific directions from Joker on what he wanted them to accomplish. “Fuuka, on top of navigation duties, we’ll need you to keep detailed notes we can give to the Thieves upon our exit.”

“So, this is basically recon?” Akihiko was very excited to fight. He hadn’t sat still at all in the hours it took them to get prepared. 

“In a sense, yes,” Sae said. “If we can reach the end and provide an infiltration plan, Tokyo will be a much safer place.”

There were nods all around, and the group rolled out. 

Minako quickly discovered she should have had more faith in her friends, even being optimistic going into the day.

“Did you know either of them were capable of that?” Tae leaned into Minako at one point after Shinjiro and Akihiko took turns in a very Yoshizawa-esque competition to see who could destroy the most shadows.

“Years ago, sure,” Minako shrugged. “Now? I assumed Shinji was gonna let himself go.”

She couldn’t pick out the extra  _ something _ in Tae’s voice when she said “He absolutely didn’t let himself go.”

“You gonna hit that?” Minako teased, earning glares from Mitsuru and Sae, who stayed behind. It was simpler for everyone to just let Akihiko and Shinji take turns while Chie desperately tried to get in on the action. She might’ve been more annoyed with them than Sae, who longed for Joker’s more strategic approach to attacking a palace.

Chie was actually showing visible signs of frustration, and her failure in convincing Yosuke to do a similar competition was causing even more issues. 

Minako wanted to remain impartial, but when Shinjiro and Akihiko sprinted off ahead of everyone to act like children on the next floor, she found herself seething with frustration just like Sae and Chie. They both shot glares at Mitsuru, who seemed amused by their behavior. Minako sighed. ‘This is why Mitsuru isn’t in charge, I guess.’

She chose to look on the bright side: The path went from being split into three to being split into two, which meant they must be nearing the top where the building started to narrow. Sets of stairs were laid out more closely to Tartarus. The group ran into a few floors where the stairs were right in front of the entrance. Minako thought this Frankenstein crew might actually hit the top.

“Chie!” She snapped out of a pout when Minako called her out. “What’s up?”

“They’re not letting me take my turn.” She sounded an awful lot like a little kid. 

Minako had to suppress a laugh. “Isn’t it easier to just let them fight it out?” Part of her was just as frustrated, but being a good leader meant keeping peace on occasion. She tried to suppress the feeling of pride she felt being back in charge.

“This was supposed to be my training for the day, and I don’t get to fight with Akihiko often,” Chie said. 

Minako at least sort of understood, but she didn’t respond to Chie. “Hey, boneheads!”

Chie startled when Minako shouted.

“I know you think you’re doing all of us a favor, but the others came to  _ help, _ not watch you two pretend you’re 15 again.” If Minako hadn’t rolled her eyes, it could be heard in her voice. 

They responded like children getting caught staying up too late. “Sorry, Minako.”

“Are you sure you’re not like- a mom or some-” Mitsuru stepped in front of Chie before Minako swung her naginata at her. 

Tae snorted. “If she’s a mom, does that mean she has grandchildren-”

A bonk resonated through the room, and they went up the stairs again. The next floor seemed to be the top level, the grey blur of the treasure guarded by the most vaunted monster any of them had ever faced.

Wakaba had been largely silent the entire time, by something of a design. Minako attributed the smoothness with which the operation went to the rapid work of their navigators. Having three on one mission with such a small party meant not a single thing on any floor was an unknown. It worked similarly, Minako thought, to having a walkthrough.

When Wakaba spoke up, it startled everybody. 

“So, this guy nulls basically every attack,” she told the group. 

“Why is a fucking table always the toughest opponent?” Akihiko complained. 

Meanwhile, the table loomed, looking down on the group. It must have been waiting for them to attack first.

“Anybody have an Almighty move?”

Minako started to speak up, but Sae interrupted her.

“I’d rather die than see that giant penis thing again.”

Akihiko and Shinjiro looked at each other and started giggling. “Did you really summon Mara?”

“I may have.” Minako chuckled. “But I wasn’t going to mention that. I have Alice but-” she thought back to the last time she used Alice. It hadn’t ended poorly, but she still felt uncomfortable using her. “I think she’s jinxed?”

“You used her last time just fine,” Sae said.

“Yeah,” Minako shrugged. “She’s telling me the same thing.” Something about her Persona  _ arguing _ with her made her feel like a schizophrenic. 

“I can get you a charge if the others can hold out,” Wakaba said. “Want to try?”

Minako shifted her stance so she leaned more on one leg. “Would we be able to take it out in one hit?”

“No, but if somebody can get a status effect-”

“I can do that,” Tae said. “I’m not as-” she looked around the room, “I’m a pretty shit fighter. I can get it poisoned, though.”

“That’ll work,” Minako said.

And the plan went off without a hitch. Tae used Rosario to cast poison, the rest of the party buffed, the monster attacked once, and Minako slaughtered it in one move. There was something cathartic, Minako thought, about destroying the Sleeping Table so quickly.

“How do we grab the treasure?” Akihiko and Shinjiro looked back and forth at each other trying to figure out the answer to their own question.

“We don’t,” Mitsuru said. “They send a calling card. This is the Phantom Thieves’ fight.”

“Damn it,” Shinjiro and Akihiko said in unison.

“On the bright side, Aki,” Minako teased. “You might actually get to take your wife sightseeing.”

Aki grumbled a little. 

===

_ Evening _

Riki sprinted out of the front door fast enough that Naomi couldn’t catch him.“You can’t make me study!” 

“I swear to god, you fucking brat.” Naomi returned home to find out her mother had extra work she needed to finish before Monday morning. Then Aika’s scooter broke down  _ again, _ which meant her father was at the restaurant trying to get it fixed. At least this meant he’d be bringing dinner home.

However, he left Riki in charge of Miya, which meant fingerpaints, and lots of them. “It’s a good thing mom and dad work all those extra hours,” Naomi said. Miya was sitting in a puddle of paint and tears. “Because you seem to ruin a couch every couple months.”

“But-” Miya stammered. “We can just ask Tatsumi-san to fix it.”

Naomi sighed. Miya didn’t know any better, and Mrs. Tatsumi would definitely help them. She’s a sweet old lady who actually taught Naomi how to sew when she was young. ‘I should practice more,’ she thought offhand. “I’ll scrub and see if it comes out. If your brother gets here, pretend to sneeze twice. I don’t want him running off again.”

“Ren or Riki?”

Naomi rolled her eyes. “Which one is more likely to be home tonight?”

Miya gave a long sigh that reminded Naomi of their mother. “Riki.” This four-year-old girl’s disappointed parent impression was better than their own mother’s. She must’ve gotten that from Ren. 

Naomi gave a sigh of her own. “Should we go look for Riki?”

Miya sniffled. “I wanna finish my painting.”

Naomi took a better look at the large piece of construction paper Miya had been painting on. It mostly consisted of smiley faces, each adorned with black hair. There was another smiley smiley face off to the left. It was missing the stick figure body the rest of the family had. It was replaced by multiple grey buildings that must’ve been Tokyo. The blobbily-haired smiley face must’ve been Ren. Off to the left, detached from the rest of the family, was what Naomi assumed was one of Miya’s friends, depicted as just a little taller than Miya, with blonde hair. Miya went through the extra effort of making her body blue. Naomi pointed to her. “Who’s that?” 

“She’s my dream friend,” Miya chirped. “She tells me that RenRen’s okay.”

“You’re a strange kid,” Naomi chuckled. “But I had an imaginary friend, too.”

Miya beamed. “You did?”

“Yep! I called her Lizzy, and she told me all about noses.”

“Noses?” Miya then smeared more paint on her hands and giggled while she painted long noses on everybody in the family, her imaginary friend included. “There!”

“You’re a goofy kid, you know that?”

“Yes,” Miya beamed. At least one of her siblings still wanted her around, Naomi thought. 

She eventually wrangled Riki and actually got him to study. She had to promise to buy him a souvenir the next time she went to visit Ren. 

===

**Minako:** you can send the calling card whenever

**Sae:** Makoto and I are working on it tonight. 

**Yusuke:** want to send it to me after? I’ve got a design in mind

**Kat:** do the words “fascist dickhead” appear anywhere

**Tae:** seconded

**Sae:** we should be more professional

**Sae:** but yes

**Rio:** woo we terrorists now

**Ren:** always have been

**Ren:** kinda

**Futaba:** we could be more terrorist if u wanna

**Ann:** I regularly think about how I’m a dual citizen and I’m the only one of us with a way out

**Kana:** false

**Kana:** I was born in Atlanta

**Minato:** explains the Outkast posters

**Kana:** BOB is the song of my people

**Tae:** I can’t decide if kids these days are just way cooler or if i’m a victim of arrested development

**Minako:** it’s a combination of both

**Sae:** as somebody who was a functioning adult until recently, I think it’s both

**Ryuji:** I have no idea what Atlanta is. 

**Kat:** I think it’s a painkiller

**Kana:** that’s Mylanta

**Shiho:** is Kana the world’s first amazon mermaid

**Kana:** that’s Atlantis

**Futaba:** isn’t Georgia in Europe?

**Kana:** ok ur just fucking with me

**Ryuji:** There’s a Georgia in Europe?

===

_ Monday, July 11, After School _

_ Tomo Kaida, the man who wields power he does not possess.  _

_ Your attempt to complete the tragic plans of Masayoshi Shido will not come to fruition. _

_ We will rob you of your distorted desires and your will to seize power. _

_ Sincerely yours, The Phantom Thieves of Hearts. _

“It’s simple,” Ren said. “I like it.”

“I thought your old cards were too wordy.” Sae earned an eye roll from her sister for the unwarranted constructive criticism. 

Ren went with it. “Blame Akechi.”

“What-” Akechi started to protest.

“Yep,” Makoto grinned and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Just blame Goro for everything.”

Goro was too flustered to muster a response, and the kids turned their attention back to Sae. They really,  _ really _ needed to be studying, but everyone agreed finishing Kaida before summer vacation was ideal for all of them. Ren and Makoto could run cram sessions if they had to. 

Sae and Mitsuru were both horrified that they would take any chances with their exams, but nearly every single one of the students was adamant that they wouldn’t be able to focus on their studies until Kaida was gone. 

They shared a look and agreed. They wouldn’t have to take everyone with them anyway. Only Joker, Roulette, Queen and Crow would be fighting. Omen, Skull, Death and Ares would be sticking near to ensure there were no sneak attacks, and everyone else would be split between a nearby safe room, in case they needed reinforcements and the bottom floor of the tower, to help plan their escape. 

Death joked, in front of everybody, that Roulette looked like she might nut listening to Joker’s well-laid-out plan. 

She tutted, and asked for focus, which mostly just made the group laugh harder.

It helped, Joker thought, distract from Crow’s poor grasp on his own mental health, especially while within the Metaverse. 

He was very obviously struggling to contain Loki.

Joker sighed. “Let’s get rid of yet  _ another _ wannabe dictator.”

‘They’ll just keep crawling out of the woodwork,’ he thought. If Violet hadn’t squeezed his hand before they made their way, he might’ve turned around, hopped on a train, and never came back. ‘Maybe this time will be different.’

They split, and left the safe room. 

Joker, Roulette, Queen and Crow faced down an indignant Kaida, who didn’t look all that different than the real-life one, Roulette confessed. 

“I see you left the side of justice to enjoy the throes of chaos, Miss Niijima,” the shadow greeted the group. He waited in front of the treasure, his face stoic and his posture stubborn. 

“It’s no more chaotic than inventing crimes to pin on your enemies,” Roulette shot back. 

Kaida’s exasperated sigh, like he didn’t have time for this, surprised everyone except Roulette. The condescending behavior was something she must have expected. 

“I suppose I couldn’t expect a woman to understand.” His voice oozed condescension. “I suggested you take time off to find a husband, not join a terrorist organization.”

“We’re not terrorists,” Joker pouted. 

“That will be for the law to decide,” Kaida’s laugh grew deeper as his shadow transmogrified into it’s true form. “I shall rid Japan of this boon once and for all!”

His shadow took the form of a giant, muscular purple man wearing a gold crown.

Crow seethed at the sight, which confused everyone except Joker.

“I always wondered what would happen if I used Odin against Loki,” he chuckled at what was definitely not a funny situation. “Everyone? Maybe, uh, fall back for a minute. Crow’s not quite himself.”

The explosion from a Megidolaon would have blown them back had Joker not given them a timely warning.

“What the hell is wrong with him?” Roulette covered her eyes at the bright lights. Odin responded with an almighty attack of his own.

“Loki and Odin?” Joker gave her a quizzical look. 

Roulette gritted her teeth. 

“Is he going to be okay?” 

“After he calms down, yeah,” Joker said. “He can’t keep this up much longer.”

“D-Did you bank on this?” Queen looked even more confused.

“No,” Joker shrugged. “He’ll wear himself out, and we’ll just pick the bones.”

“Christ,” Queen said. “That’s a bit heartless, isn’t it?”

“Queen, I’ve got enough healing items to raise the fucking dead,” Joker rolled his eyes. “The only time any of you are ever in danger is if I’m not here.”

“Right,” Queen sighed. “I forget the whole time travel thing sometimes.”

“Me too,” Joker said. “Looks like Crow’s about done.”

The cavalcade of bright lights and the thuds of hard strikes eventually slowed, leaving Crow huffing and puffing.

“Are  _ any _ of you going to help?” Crow looked back at his team while Odin was on the ground.

Queen jumped right in, throwing an atomic blast at Odin. “Were you going to let us?”

Odin immediately attacked Queen, jumping on the opportunity to attack somebody that wasn’t Crow. It was the last mistake he’d make because Roulette fired a barrage of explosives.

“Got him!” Roulette looked around the room to celebrate.

“Uh,” Oracle cut in. “Guys, you need to get out of there. Anyone have a parachute?”

“A parachute-”

Joker brushed past Roulette, cutting her off and grabbing the treasure: A giant baton. “He’s a power-grabbing maniac,” Joker yelled at Roulette, grabbing her arm and dragging her behind him. “It’s a house of cards!”

“Oh.” Roulette was no longer being dragged, keeping up with him in stride.

“Everyone hang on!” Joker grabbed Roulette around the waste, who in turn grabbed Queen’s arm, who grabbed Crow, pulling him behind. He shot the grappling hook at a nearby building. He let out a deep breath as they floated to safety.

The team at the bottom was in high spirits, celebrating the victory.

Roulette looked at Joker. “Did…”

“I think we might’ve killed him,” Joker said, making a face. 

“Has that ever happened before?”

“Uh,” Joker shrugged. “Okumura?” He looked around at the group, like any of them would know. Their blank faces told him that they didn’t. 

Then  _ something _ moved under the rubble. 

“Nevermind!” He laughed maniacally to himself. “False alarm.”

They returned to the real world. ‘Fuck. That was almost terrible.’

===

_ Saturday, July 16, Afternoon _

Naomi helped Ren avoid the awkward situation of having to ask her for their home address by picking him and Sumire up from the train station. They’d taken their exams earlier that day, both leaving with the knowledge that they got somewhere between an A and and A+. 

Kaida confessed his sins and resigned in disgrace as the SIU disbanded until a new prime minister could be decided. The most senior member of the diet was next in line which meant No Good Tora was acting as prime minister. This made Ren and the rest of the Phantom Thieves happy, because Toranosuke Yoshida was a good man. They just weren’t sure how to let the public know that they endorsed No Good Tora without giving any illusions to who they were.

Ren decided that it was a problem for another time. Now that Kaida was gone, Mitsuru and Sae swore to Ren that they could handle the fallout, and he could have some time to relax with his friends. Did he really think they could handle it? Absolutely not. Was he going to let them try anyway?

Well, free time was hard to come by, and Ren wanted to spend time with his family, even if he didn’t remember his parents’ names. Getting to do it with Sumire next to him felt like some kind of dream.

“No more green?” Ren said in lieu of a greeting when he saw his sister. 

“It was just bottle dye,” Naomi said. “It never lasts for more than a couple weeks.” She turned from her brother to his redheaded girlfriend. “How’s it goin’, Sumire?”

Sumire was somehow even more excited than Ren. “Great! We both did well on final exams, so this is a nice way to end exam season.”

“I’m proud of both of you,” Naomi said. “I’m glad you finally took my advice and started taking school seriously.”

Ren awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

“Although, I suppose the idea was to do well in school so you never had to come back here again. You found a more interesting way out.”

“And brought back a girlfriend!” Sumire said with enthusiasm.

“Yeah,” Ren’s sister rolled her eyes. “Riki will love that.”

“Is he struggling with the ladies?”

“He doesn’t seem to understand that Hifumi is his cousin.”

Ren chuckled. “He’s not really her type.” 

“Oh? You know her type?”

“She likes the shy ones,” Sumire said. “Hifumi’s in the process of tormenting one of our friends, and he’s completely clueless.”

“Huh,” Naomi shrugged. “I’ll have to ask her about that. We should get going, though. I gotta stop for gas before we get home.”

They hopped in Ren’s father’s car, and Naomi drove them first to the gas station, and then home. 

The Amamiya home was the largest free-standing home Sumire had ever been inside, although the bar for that was fairly low. She was a city-girl, through and through, so being inside a residence that wasn’t an apartment was already a strange occurrence. They lived in a suburban-style two-story home with a large front yard and a large fenced-in backyard, which was something else Sumire didn’t know was a thing people had in the countryside. 

“Are you really that surprised to see somebody with a yard?”

“Before now, Sojiro was the only person with a yard that I knew,” Sumire said with a small laugh. “It’s weird for me to leave the city.”

Naomi sighed. “We don’t have the train platforms to get lost in or the giant buildings that house more people than my entire town.”

“I’ll trade you,” Sumire said. “I’ll live here.”

“We could start a commune,” Ren joked. “We already started a cult.”

“I prefer the term terror-cell,” Sumire said, giving Ren an odd look that maybe told him she wasn’t kidding.

“Are you two still pretending you’re the Phantom Thieves?”

“Yeah,” Sumire chortled. “Pretending. Right.”

They entered the house through the garage and right into the kitchen. Sumire was in heaven the second they walked in. Whatever Ren’s father was cooking smelled almost as good as LeBlanc in Ren’s opinion, but Sumire must’ve thought it smelled even better.

“Hi, Dad,” Naomi greeted as they walked in. “Ren’s home.”

He barely had a chance to speak before he was smothered in a hug. Then he let go fairly quickly.

“Can’t leave dinner alone,” he said. “Go see everyone else.  _ Somebody _ put it in Miya’s head that we should have curry for her birthday. She’s out with your mother right now. They wanted to make an emergency Junes run.”

‘Easier than making it at LeBlanc,’ Ren thought. Their kitchen was about three times the size of LeBlanc’s admittedly dinky kitchen. “If you need any help, let me know,” Ren said and walked by, patting his dad on the back. He felt slightly guilty of how easy acting normal came. 

He entered the living room to a wave of nostalgia washing over him. It was darkly colored and warm in a way similar to LeBlanc, but instead of coffee, the walls were lined with family photos. He saw his own face in many of them, albeit a younger version of it. He must’ve been staring, or idling for too long because Sumire grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. 

“Just like you remember it, right?” Naomi grinned at her brother before taking a seat on the couch. “You’ll have to share your room with Hifumi. She’s out with a friend right now, though.”

“Good to see she’s making friends,” Ren said. “We’ve been worried about her.”

Naomi rolled her eyes. “She’s got quite the following. It reminds me of when Risette moved in.”

“Oh,” Ren said. “Did I tell you I met Risette?”

“No shit,” Naomi said. “I guess she was gone by the time you started high school. She was way nicer than she had any reason to be.”

“She’s definitely down to earth,” Sumire said before grabbing Ren’s arm and dragging him down the hallway. “Show me your room, Senpai!”

Ren could hear Naomi busting a gut as they left the room.

“Which room is yours?”

Ren shrugged. Doors lined the hallway, and he was able to figure out which room was his because it had a note written in Naomi’s handwriting that read: “Hifumi’s room. Please respect her privacy, Riki.” 

“Oof,” Ren said with a laugh. “I might have to have a talk with my brother about respecting women.

Naomi heard him from the living room and shouted “we’ve all tried,” in a defeated voice. 

Sumire leaned in and gave Ren a peck on the cheek before he could open his door. “I think I have a plan.”

“Does it involve Futaba?”

“Huh? Why?”

“Oh, I was just going to have Futaba send Naomi a copy of his search history-”

“Ren! That’s so mean!”

“I’m too old to be teaching sexual harassment seminars.” Ren twisted the doorknob and entered his room. Except for a photo on the nightstand that must’ve belonged to Hifumi, it looked largely untouched, It wasn’t overly dusty, though, so somebody must’ve been cleaning it on occasion. He would’ve gotten a better look around the room had Sumire not shut the door. “What are you-”

He was interrupted when she tackled him to the bed. He gasped for air. “I don’t think you realize that you  _ actually do hit like a truck.” _

Sumire gave a light laugh. “I saw an opportunity and took it.”

“I’ve created a monster,” Ren said with a chuckle. They sat up and looked around. The room wasn’t small, but it was definitely smaller than LeBlanc’s attic. It was made up of typical white-painted drywall, and the carpet made it a bit warmer than the rest of the house. He had some trophies on a shelf above his bed, although he couldn’t imagine ever being much of a contributor on a baseball team. He’d hit the batting cage a few times to know he could actually swing a bat pretty well, but that was all he knew when it came to the sport. Apparently, though, he’d been on a couple first-place teams leading up to his assault.

“It  _ does _ make sense that you’re some kind of athlete,” Sumire said. “You’re almost as capable as us when it comes to moving around in the Metaverse.”

“I just assumed that had to do with the metaverse working differently than the real world,” Ren shrugged. 

“Maybe we’ll just have to test it out in the real world.”

They dropped a bag of their things and returned to the living room.

“I swear!” Riki pleaded with Naomi, who had a firm grip on his ear. “I studied real hard!”

“Then Mr. Ichijo pulled me aside to ask me about summer school for you for fun?” Naomi was careful not to raise her voice.

“I don’t know what’s up Ichijo’s as-”

“Language, Riki,” Naomi chided.

“Fine. Butt,” Riki said. “I bet my grades are good enough to be eligible for summer ball.”

Ren imagined steam coming from Naomi’s ears. “Eligible doesn’t mean you’re getting good grades, you dipshit!”

Ren cleared his throat, earning looks from both of his siblings.

“Hey, bro,” Riki said, looking down at his shoes. “I, uh, don’t know how much-”

“I heard enough to know you probably aren’t doing well in school,” Ren said. “But I was actually going to introduce you to Sumire.”

Riki sighed in relief, then his eyes widened. “Hi, name’s Riki. You really dating this guy?”

“Why do you sound so shocked?” Sumire raised an eyebrow.

“He’s a goof,” Riki shrugged. “I thought women wanted a  _ real _ man.”

“Anyone who has to tell you he’s a real man isn’t, runt,” Naomi said with a chuckle. 

Riki rolled his eyes. “Sure.”

“Where’s Miya?” Ren said. “Are they really not back yet?”

“They should be back any minute,” Naomi said. “In the meantime, we should catch up. Riki has _all_ _sorts_ of things to tell you.”

“I didn’t do anything!”

“Nobody said you did, squirt-”

“Don’t call me that!”

“Stop acting like a squirt, then,” Naomi said. “But I meant about basketball. Haven’t practices started?”

“Oh!” Riki looked relieved at not having to unveil his transgressions to his apparently-frightening older brother. “We started practice for our summer tournaments this week.”

“How’s that been going?” 

Riki hadn’t actually stopped looking at his feet. “Coach Ichijo told me I’ve gotten a lot better at dribbling, but I’m still too short to actually play.” 

“Well, you’re a first-year, so it would be pretty unusual for a first-year to get real playing time,” Ren said. “And there’s more to every sport besides what you can do with a ball in your hands.” He thought about volleyball, the only ball sport he had any background in within the last 100 years. “Shujin doesn’t have a basketball team,” Riki gasped. “But volleyball is a pretty big deal there, and I have a few friends on the team.”

“Volleyball is cool!” Riki said. “Wilt Chamberlain played volleyball.”

“Either of you know who that is?” Ren looked at Naomi and Sumire, who both shrugged.

“Ugh! Know your roots!” Riki said angrily. “He’s a basketball legend who scored 100 points in one game.”

“Uh, is that impressive?”

Riki threw his hands in the air. “How clueless can you be?”

“Extremely clueless,” Sumire said. “Like, shockingly so.”

Ren eyed his girlfriend, who shot a trollish grin back. “I didn’t come home to be ganged up on. Anyway, I was  _ going _ to tell you about my friends Rio and Kat, who are by far the smallest girls on the team and they still find ways to contribute. But now I feel like my platitudes aren’t welcome here.”

Sumire rolled her eyes. “Growth spurts aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.”

“What would you know?” Riki looked at her, incredulous. “It’s not like you play a sport.”

“Oh, Riki, please don’t-” Ren tried to warn him.

“Excuse you!?” 

Ren hid under the dining room table and dragged Naomi with him. “This doesn’t end well.” He whispered.

“No shit,” Naomi said. “I can’t believe how quickly she flipped the switch.”

“I think she planned this,” Ren said. “I might have asked her to teach Riki some respect.”

“So, is she playing around or is she actually going to hurt him?”

Ren shrugged. “A little of column A, a little of column B.” 

“I’ll have you know, I wake up at _5 a.m._ every morning to fit _extra_ training in. _Every single morning,_ ” Sumire somehow had a way of creating emphasis that didn’t surprise Ren but terrified his siblings. “Then I have _actual, official_ _practice_ with a woman who, while I love her, is practically a drill instructor three days per week!”

“I didn’t know-”

“And the other days? Well, I’m an honors student, so anything less than an A will cost me my scholarship!” Sumire interrupted him. Ren thought this must have been something pretty cathartic for her. “What else do you even have time to occupy yourself with? You have a hoop outside! Why are you wasting time fighting with your sister and harassing your cousin if you’re  _ so _ upset about playing time? Your grades are bad? Why aren’t you studying?”

“You’re being a-”

“I swear to god, if you call me a bitch, I  _ will _ embarrass you,” Sumire warned.

Riki sighed. “Okay.”

“Okay,  _ what?” _ Sumire said. 

“I’ll try harder,” he grumbled. “I’ll work at it.”

“Will you?” 

Riki nodded and plopped down on the couch. 

Ren and Naomi started to come out from under the table. He knew better than to ask Sumire where any of that came from. 

Naomi didn’t. “Where’d that come from?”

“Huh?” Sumire blushed. “I just pretended he was Kasumi. I’ve had that bottled up for years.”

Riki was still pouting on the couch. “Think it’ll work?”

Naomi shrugged. “I think that kind of pep talk isn’t in our family DNA, so maybe.”

Ren left them to gossip and took a seat next to Riki. “Uh, I asked her to get you to be more respectful, not rip into your soul.”

Riki looked at his brother. “Is it weird that it made me feel better?”

Ren chuckled. “Absolutely not. That sort of thing isn’t all that uncommon with her.”

“I need a girl that’ll kick my ass, apparently.” 

“I think we all need that, little bro,” Ren said. “I know a lot of ‘em. If you need help studying, you can give me a call anytime. Okay?”

He just nodded. 

Ren had more he wanted to say to Riki, but a screeching newly-turned-five-year-old had other plans, bursting through the front door and onto Ren’s lap.

“RenRen!” 

He let out an ‘oof’ as she collided with him. “Hi, Miya.”

“How come nobody told me you were comin’?” 

“I was gonna surprise you,” Ren said with a smile. “Happy birthday!”

“Thanks!” Miya said. She turned herself around so she was no longer facing him, in turn digging her knee into his gut.

“You’re getting a bit big to roughhouse like that, Miya,” their mother warned. “And stop hogging your brother.”

_ “NO!” _ Miya shouted, wrapping her arms around Ren’s neck and again digging her knee into his gut. Their mother tried to pull her off, nearly strangling Ren in the process. 

He would have joined the rest of the family in their laughter had he not been choking to death.

Miya finally relented, deciding their mother deserved a hug, at least.

“Thanks, Miya,” Ren said sheepishly.

“We’ve all missed you, dear,” his mother said, wrapping him in a hug. “It’s been too long.”

“I’ve missed you all, too,” Ren lied. 

She then looked at Sumire. “It’s been longer than I thought,” she said with a chuckle. “I never thought you’d actually start dating. Who’s this?”

“Sumire Yoshizawa, ma’am,” she said, bowing.

Before Ren’s mother could respond, Miya’s eyes grew large. “You’re that girl!” 

It was Sumire’s turn to be the recipient of a far-too-tight hug from a five-year-old that was much stronger than she looked.

Ren’s mother reached over and shook a hand that was free of Miya’s grasp. “I’m Noriko, dear. It’s good to see you already have a fan in the house.”

===

_ Evening _

Dinner ended with Ren and Sumire silently arguing over who had the better curry, Sojiro or Misashi. They had to agree to disagree, because it was obvious to everyone in the room that there was some kind of fight going on between the two, and had they realized it was over something so silly, the two would have had to deal with the very-strong Amamiya roast machine. 

It became obvious to both Ren and Sumire that his sense of humor was hereditary. 

“So, Ren, how’s your last few months in Tokyo been?” His mother interrupted his focus on a fairly unimportant argument Riki and Sumire were having about who would win in arm wrestling competition. Hifumi kept egging them on, telling Riki that he couldn’t lose to a  _ girl  _ because that wouldn’t be  _ manly _ . Ren would bet every yen he’d ever won in the Metaverse on Sumire beating Riki, so he wasn’t concerned about their debate over it. It would surely end later that night after Misashi, Noriko and Miya fell asleep. The loser would have to take a shot of something she called  _ Malort  _ that Shiroku ordered for a regular who passed away shortly after. They sold the bottle to Naomi at a severe discount instead of trying to sell it in the bar.

“It’s been an experience,” Ren huffed. “It’s good to be home, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss it.”

“Hifumi mentioned you’d had a crazy few months,” his mother said. “Do I even want to know?”

“You most definitely don’t,” Ren said. “I guess the good thing is my grades have never been better.”

She chuckled. “See what happens when you focus on school instead of causing trouble?”

“I have never  _ once _ caused trouble,” Ren argued, but her knowing smile told him she wouldn’t believe him.

“Right. Me neither,” she laughed. “It’s pretty amazing you got arrested before the rest of us.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, your little stunt on New Years Eve last year probably would have landed you a sentence if Dojima and his daughter weren’t too busy watching it.” Noriko nudged Misashi next to her. “But that was the kind of thing your father and I used to get up to, isn’t that right?”

“Oh, man,” he said. “I remember when I saw old man Edoka after your arrest. He was all high and mighty over it, ‘apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.’” Misashi shook his head. “Just like you, though, we never assaulted anybody.”

“I’ve never heard of Edoka,” Ren said.

“He taught third years at Yasogami back in the day.” Ren’s parents shared a nostalgic look. “We might’ve made his life a living hell for a few trimesters.”

“And now he’s forced to come to me to get his car worked on,” Misash grinned. “Who doesn’t have a future now?”

“Stop, dear,” Noriko said. “You’re in your 40s. We’re far too old for that petty nonsense.”

“I will never be too old to be petty,” Misashi pouted.

‘If there was ever a single doubt that these two were my parents, it’s gone out the window.’ Ren had to hold in a laugh. 

“C’mon, Ren, you had to have pranked a couple of your teachers by now, right?”

“Yeah, Ren,” Sumire interrupted. “Tell them about Kamoshida.”

“Oh, shi- I mean crap,” Misashi caught himself. “Was that really you?”

Naomi rolled her eyes. “You’re trying this garbage on mom and dad now, too?”

“What garbage?” Noriko raised her eyebrow, and Ren looked both at Sumire and at Hifumi. They both looked terrified. 

“He keeps claiming he’s the leader of the Phantom Thieves.”

Sumire almost swallowed her own tongue before she started laughing awkwardly. “Yeah, that’s ridiculous, Ren.” ‘Hoo boy, is Sumire  _ not _ a good liar.’ “The only heart he stole is mine.”

“Oh my god,” Noriko rolled her eyes, but she had a goofy smile on her face. “That’s the sweetest thing I’ve heard in a long time.”

_ ‘Crisis averted.’ _ Ren thought, giving a giant sigh of relief.

This broke Miya out of her argument with Riki that Sumire would beat him in arm wrestling, which bled into an argument that Miya could beat him, too. Riki was having a rough day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wrapping up Kaida's arc is the most relief I've felt since I graduated from college. That was a bit of a slog. What's next?
> 
> Nothing! This story is going on a few week hiatus while I try and wrap up Covering the Phantom Thieves. Life is too busy right now for me to be writing more than one story at a time, and that story is a whole lot less convoluted and complicated.
> 
> Okay, but what's next for the characters? They have a surprising amount of free time between this arc and the next arc. Do they go after Maruki again? Or do I write chapters, and chapters, and chapters of fluff?
> 
> That's a question I can't answer because honestly, they're both pretty plausible.


End file.
